Finland has followed the political rope between Moscow and the West for decades

Finland may well announce its entry into the NATO military alliance - in a way that would mark a dramatic shift in its foreign policy and potentially anger Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For decades, the Scandinavian nation has shared an 808-mile land border with Russia and has carefully traced the foreign policy ropes between Moscow and the West. Finland followed a policy of neutrality during the Cold War, which meant it would avoid confrontation with Russia. And in the early stages of World War II, Finland managed to repulse the Soviet invasion, which became known as the Winter War.

But his longstanding neutrality, cherished by many Finns, might end Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Jakob Kierkegaard, a senior fellow at Germany's United States Marshall Fund, told CNBC that Finland's entry into NATO would end the idea of ​​"imposed neutrality between East and West," in which neutral countries are fully committed to NATO. Or we will not protect you," he said.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it opposes expanding NATO, which is one of the reasons the Kremlin gave for its invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Zelensky, President of Ukraine, expressed his desire to join the alliance before the attack but later admitted that was not possible now.

So far, NATO countries (30 members) have supported Ukraine with military equipment. Still, they have refused to send troops, as doing so would effectively plunge Russia and the West into war. Moreover, one of NATO's guiding principles is that an attack on one member is considered an attack.

"I am not going to give a timeline for when we will decide, but I think it will happen soon," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said last week, adding that her country's membership in NATO would be finalized "within a few weeks." will be.

Polls show that since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, most Finns have supported joining NATO. Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said that Finland would "definitely" apply for NATO membership by mid-May.

NATO is likely to take advantage of Finland's geographic location and military capabilities. Your Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, has said that the country will be warmly welcomed.