NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “President Putin went to war against 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 against 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.”
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