Finland’s flag will be hoisted outside NATO headquarters on Tuesday as the country becomes the alliance’s newest member, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced. “Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member,” he told reporters on the eve of a historic meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
Russia’s all‑out invasion of Ukraine last year upended European security and prompted Finland and its neighbour Sweden to abandon decades of non‑alignment and seek NATO’s protective umbrella. Objections from Turkey and Hungary delayed Helsinki’s bid for months and continue to block Stockholm’s accession. However, the Turkish parliament cleared the final obstacle for Finland with a vote last week, allowing the process to move forward.
Completing ratification in well under a year makes Finland’s admission the fastest membership process in the alliance’s recent history. The remaining steps are largely ceremonial. At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Finland’s foreign minister will hand over the formal accession papers to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the keeper of NATO’s founding treaty, and the Finnish blue‑and‑white flag will be raised alongside those of its new allies. Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö will also speak at the event, Helsinki said.
“President Putin went to war against Ukraine with a clear aim to get less NATO,” Stoltenberg said. “He’s getting the exact opposite.”
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