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After overcoming all the bureaucratic steps, the Nordic country, which shares a long border with Russia, will join the Atlantic Alliance starting tomorrow, as announced by the secretary general of this organization, Jens Stoltenberg. “Finland will be safer and our alliance will be stronger,” he said. While waiting for the situation in Sweden to be resolved, Helsinki will be the 31st member of the bloc.
The war in Ukraine was the kick for several Eastern European countries to decide to abandon their historic neutrality and begin the procedures to join NATO to strengthen their defensive capabilities in the face of fears caused by Russia.
One of those nations was Finland, which managed to be accepted into the transatlantic bloc and from next Tuesday, April 4, it will be a full member, culminating a process that developed faster than normal.
“Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as NATO’s 31st member, making it more secure and our alliance stronger,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced.
In a ceremony in Brussels that will be attended by the president, Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish flag will be raised at the NATO headquarters. “It will be a good day for the security of Finland, for the Nordic security and for NATO as a whole,” the official added.
Stoltenberg stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal was to fragment NATO, but “he is getting the exact opposite.” He also explained that now the border between Moscow and the bloc will be more than doubled.
Among the contributions Finland will make, the official said, will be its well-trained, properly equipped military forces and a large army of reservists. “It is one of the few countries that did not reduce defense investment at the end of World War II,” he added.
The difficulties for Helsinki were erased last week when Turkey, which was responsible for blocking its application and that of Sweden, announced that they were going to give Finland the green light, even as Stockholm remains on hold.
Swedish entry is still blocked by Ankara, which says the Nordics harbor terrorist groups and has refused to extradite them. However, the Swedish authorities are optimistic and are confident that accession will take place this year.
On June 1, the Swedish Parliament will discuss the approval of new anti-terrorism legislation, with which they hope to bend the will of Turkey. Hungary is another that prevents Stockholm from joining NATO due to criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s policies, but it is estimated that they will move when Ankara does.
The news from Finland did not go unnoticed in Russia. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the RIA news agency that “in case other members’ forces and resources are deployed in Finland,” they will take steps to ensure “Russian military security.”
With Reuters and EFE
