ROME 

NATO has not expressed any interest in placing nuclear weapons or permanent bases in Finland, the country’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in an interview with an Italian newspaper, adding that the debate over Finland’s bid to enter the North-Atlantic alliance must be addressed with “calm.”

“There isn’t even interest (within NATO) to put nuclear weapons or bases in Finland,” Marin told Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Thursday, a day after Marin’s visit to Rome.

Finland and Sweden formally applied to join the NATO alliance on Wednesday, a move that followed Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Marin, who met her Italian counterpart Mario Draghi on Wednesday, stressed that the situation could be solved through dialogue.

“I think at this stage it is important to stay calm, to have discussions with Turkiye and all other member countries, answering questions that may exist and correcting any misunderstandings,” Marin told the newspaper.

Turkiye has expressed its opposition to Finnish and Swedish NATO memberships, accusing the Nordic countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups like the PKK/YPG.

Italy firmly supports Finland’s and Sweden’s application to join NATO and is willing to speed up any formal procedures for the two countries to join the alliance, Italy’s premier said on Wednesday after meeting Marin.