Finland will become the 31st memberof NATO adding 830 miles to the alliance’s frontier with Russia
Finland is all set to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) today, i.e., Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in a ceremony that will be attended by the President of Finland – Sauli Niinisto, the United States (U.S.) Secretary of State – Antony Blinken and NATO Ministers.
Finland will become the 31st member, marking a major shift in the security landscape in North Eastern Europe that adds some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.
Finland’s acceptance into the U.S.-led security alliance presents a blow to the President of Russia – Vladimir Putin, who has long sought to undermine NATO, and before invading Ukraine, demanded the bloc refrain from further expansion.
Finland and Sweden had for decades committed to non-alignment with NATO as a way of avoiding provocation with Russia. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 2 Scandinavian countries re-evaluated their neutral status.
Speaking on the occasion, the Secretary General of NATO – Jens Stoltenberg said, “It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.”
Taking it to twitter, Stoltenberg tweeted,
This is an historic week. Tomorrow we will welcome #Finland 🇫🇮 as the 31st member of #NATO, making Finland safer & NATO stronger. pic.twitter.com/DEt2w9clUj
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) April 3, 2023
Meanwhile, Russia has warned that further NATO expansion will not bring more stability to Europe, and said it would scale up forces near Finland if the alliance sent any troops or equipment to the new member country.
Finland’s NATO membership guarantees the Northern European nation access to the resources of the entire alliance in the event of attack. It includes the protection offered by NATO’s Article 5 principle, which states that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. It’s been a cornerstone of the 30-member alliance since it was founded in 1949 as a counterweight to the Soviet Union.
NATO membership also better integrates Finnish forces in training and planning with NATO allies. The Finnish Defense Force also operate some of the same weapons systems as other NATO members, including US-made F/A-18 fighters, German-designed Leopard main battle tanks and K9 howizters used by Norway and Estonia among others.
NATO has an open-door policy, meaning that any country can be invited to join if it expresses an interest, as long as it is able and willing to uphold the principles of the alliance’s founding treaty. However, under the accession rules, any member state can veto a new country from joining.
