It comes after earlier in the month Sweden already said it's on the path to joining the Western military alliance, and after Russia has issued severe warnings that nuclear build-up would be triggered in the Baltic region by the Scandinavian countries doing so.

The possibility is being intensely discussed in Finnish parliament this week. Starting Tuesday the ruling party of the Social Democrats issued a statement saying, "It is evident that Russia's actions have brought Finland several steps closer to military alignment being necessary," according to Reuters, which took it as an indicator Helsinki has 'inched closer' to joining the alliance. 

And the following day, on Thursday, top Finnish officials met with their Swedish counterparts for an update on the progress of national debate, which is expected to continue into next month.

The Helsinki Times reported the following: 

Erkki Tuomioja (SDP), the deputy chairperson of the committee, told Swedish policy-makers that Finland will probably submit its membership application in the coming weeks, given that the move is backed by "a strong majority" of both the public and lawmakers.

"I stated this regardless of whether I personally think it's a good or a bad thing," he added to the newspaper in Stockholm.