Finland formally joined NATO, the world’s largest military alliance, on Tuesday dealing a strategic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin who has long complained of the alliance’s expansion toward Russia.
„We can now declare that Finland is the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a ceremony in Brussels.
Finland Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto called the moment ‘historic’ and emphasized his country’s desire to promote stability in Europe.
„For Finland, the most important objective at the meeting will be to emphasize NATO’s support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression,” Haavisto said.
„This is a historic week,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. „We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.
Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement warning Finland’s accession would have a „negative impact” on bilateral relations. The countries share a border of more than 1,300 kilometers. Russia „will be forced to take retaliatory measures of a military-technical and other nature” in order to stop perceived threats, the statement said.
„We are convinced that history will judge this hasty step taken by the authorities of this country without due regard for public opinion by organizing a referendum,” the statement said.
NATO is a defensive military alliance with 28 European countries and the U.S. and Canada.
With the signing of the alliance, NATO countries agreed to collective defense, meaning an attack on one ally should be considered an attack on all.
Finland’s move to join NATO was triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Alarmed by the invasion, the non-aligned country applied to join along with neighboring Sweden, seeking protection under the organization’s security umbrella.
Finland’s entry in NATO serves a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long complained about the alliance’s expansion toward Russia.
Turkey, the last country to ratify Finland’s NATO membership, sent official documents on Tuesday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, clearing the final hurdle for the country’s entry.
Meanwhile, Sweden, which also applied for NATO membership along with Finland is still waiting to win approval, something Stoltenberg he expects in the coming weeks.
