"In Finland we are closing our preparations of the next security and defence report to the parliament, and there we will say that the question of NATO membership for Finland is an open possibility, as it has been also in the past," Vanhanen told a news conference.

"But we are not going to ask for membership now," he added, giving no further details.

Political observers have commented that it would be political suicide for any Finnish government to apply for membership in NATO, since polls show that nearly two-thirds of the Finns are against joining the US-dominated alliance.

Finnish defence forces are however fully compatible with NATO standards, and technically the country could therefore apply and become a member of the defence bloc quite quickly if needed, according to security experts.

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