Brussels, (EFE).- Finland today became the thirty-first full member of NATO after completing the entry process requested as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which implies that the country is covered by article 5 Alliance collective defense.
“By receiving this instrument of ratification, I declare that Finland is the thirty-first member of the North Atlantic Treaty,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a ceremony at NATO headquarters.
In that act, the Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, delivered the last document that was missing to complete the accession process of his country.
Previously, Blinken confirmed that he had received the same document from Turkey, the last ally to ratify Finland’s entry.
Traditionally, a country’s access to NATO is produced by depositing all the ratification instruments with the US State Department, which is the custodian of the Washington Treaty, the foundation of the Alliance, but on this occasion the allies have decided that that delivery will be made in the hands of its highest representative, Blinken.
In this way, Finland’s formal entry into NATO has coincided with the day the Alliance turns 74 and on which, in addition, the allied foreign ministers begin a two-day meeting in Brussels.
Finland’s entry into the Alliance has been the fastest in the organization’s modern history, Stoltenberg recalled.
“We do not want others to tell us what we can and cannot do,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said in a statement to the press together with the NATO Secretary General.
Finland and Sweden both applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Hungary and Turkey have so far not ratified Sweden’s membership.
“Now that we are members of NATO, we have a very important task: to hand over the ratification instrument from Sweden,” Haavisto told Blinken.
The raising of the Finnish flag along with those of the other 30 allies will put the finishing touch to the welcoming ceremony for that country to NATO.
Blinken: Finland’s entry into NATO is “the only thing” to thank Putin for
“We are going to welcome Finland into the Alliance (…) and I am tempted to say that this is perhaps the only thing we can thank President Putin for,” Blinken said in a statement to the press at NATO headquarters in Brussels. , where today the foreign ministers of the Alliance meet, among other things, to certify the entry of Helsinki.
With the invasion of Ukraine, “Putin has precipitated something that he says he wants to prevent,” Blinken said of the Russian president’s supposed willingness to want to prevent NATO enlargement.
However, the war “has caused many countries to believe that they have to do more to ensure their own defense and to ensure that they are able to deter Russian aggression,” the US Secretary of State continued.
