Finland became this Tuesday the 31st member of the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), in a move that will double the length of the powerful military alliance’s border with Russia.
With its entry, a direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO adds 1,300 kilometers of direct border with Russia.
#Last minute? NATO celebrates the accession of Finland: “It is a historic day, we are already 31” https://t.co/bdQIyYsUIL
— THE WORLD (@elmundoes) April 4, 2023
The country will contribute to NATO a contingent of 280,000 soldiers and one of the largest artillery arsenals in Europe.
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that Finland’s accession process has been “the fastest in modern NATO history.” This accession, he added, “will make Finland more secure and NATO stronger.”
Last year, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO countries formally invited Finland and Sweden to fully join the alliance.
Sweden will still have to negotiate further as its membership bid is vetoed by Turkey and seconded by Hungary.
Finland’s formal membership of NATO means the country is automatically protected by the alliance’s famous Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all of them.
Met with @BORN General Secretary @JensStoltenberg today in advance of the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to discuss continued Allied support for Ukraine, Sweden’s accession process, and other Alliance priorities. pic.twitter.com/Zo9KKLxw1b
—Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 4, 2023
Despite its history of tensions with Russia, Finland for decades opted to remain merely a NATO partner, but Russia’s offensive in Ukraine convinced the country to abandon its policy of automatic non-alignment and seek the protection of the alliance.
Stoltenberg claimed on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine “with the clear goal of having less NATO. But he will receive the exact opposite in return. Finland’s accession day “is really a historic day, a great day for the alliance,” Stoltenberg said.
Russia warned that Finland’s entry into NATO will not strengthen the security of the allied bloc, while ensuring that those who think that Moscow will not react to such accession are “deeply” mistaken.
“Everything will be calibrated in line with the changing situation, its security will not be strengthened, the security of the Atlantic Alliance in general will not be strengthened,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov in statements to Russian public television.
In May 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that Finnish and Swedish entry into the Alliance would not represent “a direct threat” to the security of his country, unless it includes the deployment of weapons in their territories.
With information from Efe and AFP.
