Officials have announced that Finland will be joining NATO on Tuesday, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This move means that NATO’s frontier with Russia will roughly double in length, as Finland shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia. The move has drawn a pledge from Moscow that it will strengthen its forces in border regions.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called the move “historic” and said that it will make Finland safer and the alliance stronger. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will attend the ceremony in Brussels to mark the occasion. The last hurdle to Finland’s membership was removed last week when Turkey ratified Helsinki’s application, but Sweden’s application is still on hold due to Turkey and Hungary’s concerns.
Stoltenberg has pledged to work towards getting Sweden into NATO as soon as possible, and NATO and Swedish officials are already working to bring Sweden closer to the alliance. In Moscow, Russian officials have stated that they will boost their forces in their west and northwest regions in response to Finland’s move.
Finland becomes a Member of NATO on Tuesday, 4 April 2023.
President @Niinisto will travel to Brussels and attend an accession ceremony at NATO Headquarters. https://t.co/T3qr7NxTXm
— TPKanslia (@TPKanslia) April 3, 2023