Finland will clarify the next steps to be taken regarding a possible decision to seek NATO membership in the coming weeks, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters after attending a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
NATO member countries have offered to help Finland with ensuring security during an application process and said they estimate it would take from four months to one year to approve the application, Haavisto added.
Support for long neutral Finland for joining NATO has risen since neighboring Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
According to recent polls, however, up to 62% of Finns are now in favor of their country joining NATO. A debate has also ignited in Sweden. The government there, however, is still against membership.
Finland and Sweden are not yet members of NATO, but they are close partners in the military alliance.
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said last week that neither an official opinion poll nor a referendum are necessary for Finland to join NATO.
Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (808-mile) border with Russia, making it the European Union country with the longest border with the aggressor in the war in Ukraine.