Finland officially joins NATO as the 31st member country

"Russia, Response to Military Strengthening"

Finland, a Nordic country, will become the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Finland's NATO membership is expected to intensify the geopolitical competition between NATO, which has expanded its influence to the Baltic Sea, and Russia.

According to major foreign media on the 3rd (local time), Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, said at a press conference ahead of the foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for the 4th and 5th, "Finland will officially become a NATO member on the 4th," adding, "The Finnish flag will be raised for the first time at NATO headquarters here that afternoon."

The flag-raising ceremony will be attended by foreign ministers from the 30 member countries participating in the foreign ministers' meeting, as well as the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden, and Finnish President Sauli Niinist?.

Secretary General Stoltenberg emphasized that the 4th, when Finland becomes the 31st member, is also the 74th anniversary of NATO's founding, calling it "a historic week." He added, "It will be a good day for Finland, Nordic security, and NATO as a whole."

Finland had maintained a policy of military non-alignment and neutrality, but decided to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, and submitted its NATO membership application along with Sweden last month. Joining NATO requires unanimous consent from existing member countries, and especially the ratification of the accession protocol by each country's parliament.

Turkey, which initially opposed the membership, abruptly withdrew its opposition and approved the ratification bill on the 30th of last month, finally meeting the requirements for membership.

The only remaining step is the final formal procedure of delivering the ratification bills and Finland's accession documents to the United States, the "depositary of the NATO treaty." Secretary General Stoltenberg said that Turkey and Finland plan to officially hand over the documents directly to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will attend the foreign ministers' meeting.

Stoltenberg also reiterated his hope that all procedures for Sweden, whose membership has been delayed, will be completed soon. Sweden applied for NATO membership alongside Finland last year but has yet to secure unanimous consent due to objections from Hungary and Turkey.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

With Finland officially joining NATO, the length of the border between NATO allies and Russia will approximately double.

Russia reaffirmed its policy to strengthen its military capabilities in response to Finland's NATO membership. Alexander Grushko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, told Sputnik News on the same day regarding Finland's NATO accession, "We will strengthen our military potential in the western and northwestern directions."

He added, "If troops and assets of other NATO member countries are deployed in Finland, we will take additional measures to ensure Russia's military security."

Last year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also stated that appropriate countermeasures are being prepared in response to Finland and Sweden's NATO membership efforts, and that 12 units and divisions will be organized in the Western Military District.