On Tuesday, Finland became a member of NATO, which alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said was directly caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“(Russian) President Putin has declared his goal to invade Ukraine in order to reduce NATO,” he told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, hours before Finland joined. officially the alliance. “He wants exactly the opposite… Today Finland, and soon Sweden, will become full members of the alliance.”
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Tuesday welcomed Finland’s official entry into the alliance.
“We can say that Finland is the 31st member of NATO,” he said.
At NATO headquarters, on the outskirts of Brussels, an official ceremony to raise the Finnish flag will take place, in the presence of ministers and Finnish President Sauli Niiniste.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto completed the membership process by handing over an official document to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
Niiniste said there was still a lot of work to be done to coordinate Finland’s defense within NATO’s common defense system.
“Finland’s most important contribution to NATO’s overall deterrence and defense lies in the security and defense of our own territory,” he said.
The Kremlin said Russia would be forced to take “countermeasures” as part of Finland’s entry into the alliance.
The Government of Ukraine welcomed Finland’s move. The head of the Ukrainian President’s office Andrii Yermak wrote on Telegram: “Finland made the right choice. NATO is also a key target for Ukraine.
Finland’s foreign minister said the first thing his country would do as a NATO member would be to ratify Sweden’s application to join the alliance.
