Finland became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday, in a historic strategic shift sparked by Moscow’s war on Ukraine, which will lead to the doubling of areas allied with the United States, on Russia’s borders.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “President Putin went to war once morest Ukraine with the clear aim of reducing the size of NATO. Today he is getting the exact opposite.”
How did we get here?
- Last year, Russia’s attack on Ukraine upended the security landscape in Europe, prompting Finland, and its neighbor Sweden, to abandon its decades-old policy of non-alignment.
- Finland is the country that was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939, Finland, and yet remained outside NATO for the duration of the Cold War.
- Finland has a border of 1,300 km with Russia.
Why was their request to join NATO delayed?
- Allies Turkey and Hungary, for various reasons of their own, have delayed Finland’s bid to join the NATO umbrella, and Sweden’s progress continues to falter, AFP reports.
- But last week, the Turkish Parliament voted to remove the final hurdle for Finland.
- Completing the ratification in less than a year still makes this the fastest membership process in the alliance’s modern history.
What does that mean for Finland?
- Joining NATO places Finland under Article 5 of the alliance, which indicates that an attack on one NATO member should be considered an attack once morest all NATO members.
- This was the assurance that Finnish leaders decided they needed as they watched Russia’s devastating assault on large swathes of Ukraine.
Finland’s benefit to NATO
- Entering Finland means entering a strong army into the coalition, as the Finnish army consists of 280 thousand elements, and one of the largest artillery arsenals in Europe.
- Moreover, its strategic location strengthens NATO’s defenses on borders stretching from the vulnerable Baltic states to the increasingly competitive Arctic region.
What are the next steps?
- All that remains are the formal ceremonies that will take place at NATO headquarters on Tuesday.
- Finland’s foreign minister will hand over official papers of accession to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, custodian of NATO’s founding treaty.
- After that, the country’s blue and white flag will be raised alongside that of its new allies, in front of NATO headquarters in Brussels.
What is Russia’s reaction?
- At first, the Kremlin downplayed the importance of the alliance’s advance to touch a new extension of Russia’s northwestern borders.
- Then she vowed to bolster her forces and step up the diplomatic rhetoric in recent weeks, calling Finland and Sweden a “legitimate target” if they joined NATO.
- The Kremlin on Tuesday called Finland’s NATO membership an “attack on our security” and said it would take countermeasures.
- “The Kremlin believes that this is the latest exacerbation of the situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
- He added: “NATO expansion is an attack on our security and Russia’s national interests.”
