NATO is growing: Finland is strengthening the military alliance – also with tanks and soldiers. The most important questions and answers at a glance.
Helsinki – Finland is officially a NATO member. The decades-neutral Northern Lights joined the military alliance on Tuesday. What was considered absurd at the beginning of 2022 is now reality after more than a year of war in Ukraine. What does Finland’s accession to NATO mean in concrete terms?
What does joining NATO mean?
For the NATO member states, Finland’s accession results in an extended obligation to provide assistance. Should Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, be attacked by its neighbor, it would be seen as an attack on all NATO countries. In this case, the so-called alliance case applies. Every Allied would then be asked to lend a helping hand.
The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America will be considered an attack against them all.
Incidentally, Finland’s accession will more than double the direct border between NATO and Russia. At the same time, the alliance founded in 1949 will become larger and more powerful as a result of Finland’s accession.
How is Finland militarily equipped?
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the northernmost EU country has well-equipped and trained armed forces and is currently investing in more than 60 state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jets. Because of Finland’s geographical location, the Baltic NATO states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, for example, could be defended much better in the event of a Russian attack.
According to figures from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Finland is already one of the countries that invest two percent of their gross domestic product in defense every year. This important NATO guideline is currently not being achieved by Germany and a number of other alliance partners. The size of the Finnish armed forces is given by the IISS as 19,000 men and women, plus almost 240,000 reservists. Finland has around 100 Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks and hundreds of artillery pieces to protect its borders.
How is Russia reacting to joining NATO?
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken out against any NATO expansion. The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized that a neighbor joining NATO would severely damage Russian-Finnish relations. “Russia will be forced to respond appropriately – in military-technical and other terms – to take into account the threats to its national security,” the ministry said in a May statement. Now, too, the Kremlin reacted angrily. “NATO expansion is an attack on our security and on Russia’s national interests,” said Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
NATO, meanwhile, denies claims that the alliance wants to literally encircle Russia. According to NATO information, only 1,215 kilometers of the more than 20,000 kilometers long Russian land border are currently bordering on NATO countries. Even if another 1,340 kilometers are added, the common border is comparatively small, the alliance argues. Nevertheless, the Kremlin is unlikely to like Finland’s accession.
A Russian reaction with violence is considered unlikely overall. Then Putin would also mess with the other 30 NATO countries. Cyber attacks, with which Russia is repeatedly associated, seem more conceivable.
What about Sweden?
Like Finland, Sweden also wants to join NATO; actually, simultaneous entry was planned. So far, however, this has failed due to a double veto. Turkey still does not want to agree to Sweden joining NATO, and Hungary has still not ratified either. Ankara complains that, from Turkey’s point of view, its efforts against “terrorist organizations” are inadequate and wants to force concessions. Among other things, Budapest takes issue with Swedish statements on the rule of law in Hungary. It is still unclear when the two countries will also open the NATO door for Sweden.
Stoltenberg recently said he was absolutely confident that Sweden would also become a member. The country will not be left alone and can already count on NATO reacting to threats or attacks against the country. (as/dpa)
#brings #Finland #NATO