Finland officially becomes a member of NATO
Finland has officially become NATO’s 31st member, after the entire accession process has been completed. The Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, has already handed over the document making Finland’s inclusion in the Alliance official to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
This is a historic change prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s accession roughly doubles the length of the border NATO shares with Russia and reinforces its eastern flank as the war in Ukraine continues with no resolution in sight.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed Finland to his ranks, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had cited opposition to the Alliance’s expansion as a justification for his invasion. “He’s getting the exact opposite [a lo que buscaba]. Finland today, and soon also Sweden, will become a full member of the alliance,” Stoltenberg said in Brussels.
In response, the Kremlin has claimed that Russia would be forced to take “countermeasures” to Finland’s accession. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said the move raised the possibility of the conflict in Ukraine escalating further.
The event marks the end of an era of military non-alignment for Finland, which began after the country staved off an attempted invasion by the Soviet Union during World War II and instead opted to try to maintain friendly relations with neighboring Russia. But the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted the Finns to seek safety under NATO’s collective defense pact, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. (Reuters)
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