Finland becomes 31st member of the world’s largest military alliance, prompting a warning from Russia.
Finland will become the 31st member of the world’s largest military alliance on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says, following a warning from Russia that it would beef up its defenses in response.
“This is a historic week,” Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. “From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance.”
He said he hoped that Sweden, which applied for membership at the same time as Finland, could also join NATO in the coming months.
The former Norwegian prime minister said on Tuesday afternoon that “here at NATO headquarters we will raise the Finnish flag for the first time. It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole.”
Stoltenberg said Turkey, the last NATO country to ratify Finland’s membership, will hand over its official texts to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. Stoltenberg said he would then invite Finland to do the same.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen will attend the ceremony together with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
“It’s a historic moment for us,” Haavisto said in a statement. “For Finland, the main purpose of the meeting will be to emphasize NATO’s support for Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression. We aim to promote stability and security throughout the Euro-Atlantic region.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Moscow would respond to Finland joining NATO by strengthening its defenses.
“We will strengthen our military potential in the west and northwest,” Grushko said in remarks from the state news agency RIA Novosti. “In case of deployment of troops from other NATO members on the territory of Finland, we will take additional measures to ensure the military security of Russia.”
The announcement of Finland’s accession came just after Finnish voters boosted the conservative parties in the weekend elections, denying left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin another term. Marin favored her country’s accession to NATO.
Nordic neighbors Finland and Sweden have abandoned their traditional stances of military nonalignment to seek shelter under NATO’s security umbrella after Russia invaded Ukraine just over a year ago.
All 30 existing members signed the accession protocols of Finland and Sweden. Turkey and Hungary subsequently delayed the trial for months, but conceded to Finland. Turkey has sought guarantees and commitments from the two countries, particularly on how to deal with groups it considers to be “terrorist” organisations. Hungary’s demands have never been explicit.
NATO must unanimously agree to the accession of new members. NATO officials are eager to bring Sweden into the fold for a NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on July 11-12.
“Sweden is not left alone. Sweden is as close as it can get to becoming a full member,” said Stoltenberg.