FINLAND officially became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a move that more than doubles NATO’s border with Russia.
The handover of the accession document by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the Nordic country’s official entry to the world’s biggest security alliance.
After nearly a year of waiting, Finland’s white-and-blue flag joined a circle of other 30 flags, waving under the bright sunshine in front of NATO’s headquarters.
The Nordic country’s membership has doubled NATO’s borders with Russia and represents a major change in Europe’s security landscape.
The move triggered the former Soviet state to warn of retaliatory measures and said that they will closely monitor how the world’s largest military alliance uses Finland’s territory to potentially threaten Russia’s borders.
Finland’s entry into NATO falls on the organization’s very own birthday, the 74th anniversary of the signing of its founding Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949.
In a speech, Niinistö said the country’s membership in NATO strengthen its international position and vowed to contribute to the alliance’s collective security and defense.
‘’Finland has today become the 31st member of NATO. Finland will contribute to NATO’s collective deterrence and defense,’’ said President Sauli Niinistö.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Finland’s membership is good for the alliance due to its substantial and highly capable forces as the organization looks forward to welcoming Sweden.
The Russian invasion forced Helsinki to drop decades of nonmilitary alignment and chose the protection of Nato’s Article Five, which says an attack on one member is an attack on all.
The article written more than 70 years ago means that if Finland were invaded or attacked, all NATO members – including the US – would come to its aid.
Stoltenberg assured that NATO and Swedish officials were already working to bring Sweden closer to the alliance while waiting for its members to be finalized.
