Finland joined NATO, on Tuesday, to become the 31st member of this system, following a policy of military non-alignment it adopted for 3 decades, which constitutes a strategic turning point for the alliance, which angered Russia.
US President Joe Biden expressed his “pride” in welcoming Finland into the alliance, and said in a statement, “When (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched his brutal war of aggression once morest the Ukrainian people, I believed that he would be able to cause division in Europe and NATO. He was wrong. Today We are more united than ever.”
He added, “I am pleased to welcome Finland as the thirty-first ally of NATO,” pledging to continue “to defend every inch of the territory” of the alliance.
“This is certainly a great day for Finland (…) but it is also a good thing for NATO,” Finnish Defense Minister Ante Kaikkonen said before the ceremony.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the US Secretary of State praised a “historic day”.
“We announce Finland as the thirty-first member of the alliance as we receive this instrument of accession,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, custodian of the founding treaty of the defense alliance, during a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
“I can say that (this accession) may be the only thing we can thank (Russian President Vladimir) Putin for, because he has once once more accelerated something that he said he wanted to avoid by attacking” Ukraine, Blinken added.
Russia condemned the move as an attack on its security and vowed to take “countermeasures”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “This is a new escalation of the situation. The expansion of NATO constitutes a violation of our security and our national interests.”
The Scandinavian country, which shares a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, became the 31st member of NATO on the anniversary of its founding on April 4, 1949.
The Finnish flag is raised in the main courtyard at the organization’s headquarters in Brussels, between the flags of Estonia and France, in alphabetical order.
“Finland is now safe,” the NATO Secretary-General said upon his arrival.
He added, “Atlantic allies together represent 50 percent of the world’s military power. Therefore, as long as we are united we will protect each other and we will do so with credibility, there will be no military attack on an Atlantic ally.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine shuffled the security cards in Europe, and pushed Finland and Sweden to seek to join the Atlantic.
With Finland joining NATO, the total length of the border between Russia and the defense alliance will almost double. Helsinki will benefit from the protection afforded by Article V of the NATO Charter, which states that if a member state is subjected to an armed attack, the other states will consider this action an armed attack directed once morest all members and will take such measures as are necessary to provide assistance to the targeted country.
“Finland confirms that it is able to protect its borders and does not ask for reinforcements from NATO. But we do not know what will be Russia’s response. If it doubles its forces at the borders, we will have to review our deployment,” said a representative of a NATO member state.
An invitation to Erdogan
Obstruction by Türkiye and Hungary delayed Helsinki’s accession to the alliance for months. Ankara and Budapest are still blocking Sweden’s accession to NATO.
“I am absolutely confident that Sweden will become a member as well,” Stoltenberg said. “It is a priority for NATO, and for me to make sure that happens as quickly as possible.”
Biden stressed that he would also be “happy” to receive Sweden into the alliance “as soon as possible,” while his Foreign Minister Blinken encouraged Turkey and Hungary “to ratify Sweden’s accession protocols without delay.”
Biden added that the two Scandinavian countries are “strongly democratic, have great military capabilities, and share our values and vision of the world.”
For her part, the French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, affirmed that “Sweden must join NATO without delay,” because with these two countries, the alliance will become stronger to guarantee the security of the Euro-Atlantic space.
“We hope that Sweden’s NATO flag will fly during the Vilnius summit,” said her Lithuanian counterpart, Gabrielus Landsergis.
“I call on President Erdogan not to blow up the Vilnius summit,” he added.
Ukraine will become a member of NATO.
Stoltenberg pointed out that the accession of the two Scandinavian countries to the alliance is an indication that “the door to NATO remains open.”
He added, “NATO’s position is firm: Ukraine will become a member of the alliance,” but “the main goal until now is its steadfastness as a sovereign and independent country, otherwise talking regarding membership becomes meaningless.”
And NATO foreign ministers will meet their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, to discuss “long-term support” that can be provided to Kiev.
“Ukraine wants the same goal as Finland to become a full member of NATO, and our talks here in Brussels will deal with the way we can move forward,” the Ukrainian minister said upon his arrival.
A meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Committee will be organized for this purpose, despite the objections of Hungary.
