BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Finland will become the 31st member of the world’s largest military alliance on Tuesday, prompting a warning from Russia that it will strengthen its defenses. near their joint border if NATO were to deploy any troops to their new member.
“This is a historic week,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. “From tomorrow, Finland will become a full member of the alliance.” He said he hoped Sweden would join NATO in the coming months.
The former Norwegian prime minister said that on Tuesday afternoon, “we will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.”
Stoltenberg said that Turkey, the last country to confirm Finland’s membership, its official texts will be given to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. Stoltenberg said he would invite Finland to do the same.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen will attend the ceremony, along with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
“This is a historic moment for us. For Finland, the most important goal at the meeting is to emphasize NATO’s support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression,” Haavisto said in a statement. “We want to promote stability and security in the entire region of the Euro-Atlantic.”
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Moscow would respond to Finland becoming a NATO member by strengthening its defenses if necessary.
“We will strengthen our military potential in the west and in the northwest,” Grushko said in remarks carried by the RIA Novosti news agency. “In the case of the deployment of forces of other NATO members on the territory of Finland, we will take additional measures to ensure the security of the Russian military.”
The announcement of Finland’s entry comes just after Finnish voters gave a boost to conservative parties in an election over the weekend., depriving leftist Prime Minister Sanna Marin of another term. Marin fought for his country’s NATO entry.
Fearing they could be targeted after Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, Nordic neighbors Finland and Sweden abandoned their traditional positions of military non-alignment to seek protection under the security umbrella. of NATO.
All 30 allies have signed the accession protocols of Finland and Sweden. Turkey and Hungary delayed the process for several months but agreed with Finland. Turkey has sought guarantees and assurances from both, especially in dealing with extremism. Hungary’s demands have never been outright.
NATO must agree fully for new members to join. NATO officials are also keen to bring Sweden into the fold before US President Joe Biden and his alliance counterparts meet in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11-12.
“Sweden was not left alone. Sweden is as close as it can come to being a full member,” Stoltenberg said.
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Jari Tanner in Helsinki contributed to this report.