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Finland's NATO vote and China's peace paper
Summary
A look back at two political developments from the days around 2 March 2023, one in Helsinki and one concerning Beijing's position on the war.
What was the political picture on 2 March 2023? Two developments shaped it in the days just before that date.
On 24 February 2023, China unveiled a 12-point position paper on ending the war in Ukraine, ahead of an expected speech by President Xi Jinping on the conflict. Ukraine said it hoped China could urge Russia to withdraw its troops in response to the paper.
On 1 March 2023, the Finnish Parliament voted 184–7 to formally approve the country's accession to NATO and to adopt the alliance's founding documents. Hungary and Turkey had yet to approve Finland's membership.
Taken together, the two items show diplomacy moving on separate tracks. Beijing set out a position on ending the war, with Kyiv responding by pointing to troop withdrawal. In Helsinki, lawmakers backed NATO membership by a wide margin, while approval from two existing members was still outstanding.
