With a solemn flag-raising ceremony, Finland officially became the thirty-first full member of NATO on Tuesday, thanks to a expedited process that has lasted less than a year. Sweden’s candidacy, presented simultaneously, has run into more obstacles due to Turkey’s veto, but everything indicates that it will also come to fruition at the summit to be held in Vilnius in July. By contrast, the allies continue to stall Ukraine’s request to join the club.
A request that has been reiterated for the umpteenth time by the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmitro Kuleba, during the meeting of NATO foreign ministers held in Brussels. “We are all happy for Finland today. Finland’s accession is a clear message that the time has come to review old strategies and old perceptions. There is no better solution to ensure Euro-Atlantic security as a whole than Ukraine’s entry into NATOKuleba said.
The Secretary General’s response has been to once again cool Kiev’s aspirations for membership, which the Atlantic Alliance itself recognized in 2008. Jens Stoltenberg insists that the priority now is to help the Government of Volodimir Zelensky to win the war against Russia, for which he promises a multi-year assistance plan. But in the face of the immediate positive response he gave to Finland and Sweden, he avoids any commitment of dates in the case of Ukraine.
[La OTAN duplica su frontera con Rusia por la entrada de Finlandia y Putin avisa de represalias]
Now extend an invitation to kyiv, as Zelensky claims, would mean entering into a direct military clash with Russia, something that NATO tries to avoid at all costs from the beginning of the invasion. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty obliges all allies to come to the rescue of anyone who is attacked. A collective defense clause that already covers Finland and implicitly also Sweden, despite the fact that Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified their accession.
“NATO’s position on accession has not changed. Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance, this has been repeated over and over again at NATO summits. At the same time, we all realize that in order to make any significant progress on this issue, the first step is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign and independent nation. And that is why the NATO allies are providing him with an unprecedented level of support,” Stoltenberg responded when asked about Zelensky’s request.
The Finnish flag-raising ceremony at the NATO headquarters in Brussels
The alternative to membership that NATO now offers kyiv consists of a multi-year assistance plan which will be approved at the Vilnius summit, which the Ukrainian president himself is expected to attend in person. The goal of this plan is “to help ensure Ukraine’s deterrence and defense, transition from Soviet-era equipment and doctrines to NATO standards, and increase interoperability with NATO,” Stoltenberg explained.
“This demonstrates our long-term commitment to Ukraine. And brings Ukraine closer to the Euro-Atlantic family. The allies have made it clear that we remain committed to NATO’s open-door policy,” said the Secretary General. In this sense, Member States demand that kyiv “continue on the path of reformseven in difficult times”. In particular, in the fight against corruption and strengthening the rule of law and the rights of minorities.
Finland’s entry into NATO represents a Copernican turn in its traditional policy of neutrality. “The era of military non-alignment in our history has come to an end. A new era begins,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö proclaimed during the accession ceremony in Brussels.
For Stoltenberg, Finland’s entry into the club”is the result of the war against President Putin’s aggression in Ukraine”. “By becoming a full member, we are removing the possibility of a miscalculation in Moscow about NATO’s determination to protect Finland. And that makes Finland safer and NATO stronger,” he stressed.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during the NATO meeting in Brussels
“I’m trying to say that this is the only thing for which we should thank Mr Putin. Because he was the one who precipitated something he said he wanted to prevent. The Russian aggression made many countries realize that they have to do more for their own defense and to deter possible future Russian aggression,” said US Secretary of State, anthony blinken.
Stoltenberg has said it is up to Helsinki to decide whether to host Atlantic Alliance forces on its territory. “There will be no NATO troops in Finland without the consent of Finland. In many countries we have naval and air exercises or presence, but no permanent bases. And this has not been raised so far in our talks with Finland,” he noted.
Russia has warned that Finland’s accession to NATO will force it to take “countermeasures” (although he has not specified which ones) and increases the possibility that the conflict in Ukraine will worsen even more. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, has said this Tuesday that the enlargement of NATO constitutes “an intrusion in our security and in the national interests of Russia”. The Russian authorities have also threatened to increase the military presence near the border with Finland.
