Finland to become 31st NATO member tomorrow, Stoltenberg says
Flag of Finland (Photo:stanjourdan/flickr)
Finland will officially join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 4, becoming the 31st member state of the Alliance, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced during a press conference broadcast by Finnish news agency Yle.
This will be a "good day" for the security of Finland, the Nordic countries, and NATO as a whole, he said.
"This is a historic week,” Stoltenberg began.
“Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st NATO member, making it safer and our Alliance stronger. We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at NATO headquarters.”
Finland, along with Sweden, simultaneously applied to join NATO in May 2022 amid Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Late on March 31, Turkey became the last country to ratify Finland's accession to NATO. A few days earlier, the Hungarian parliament okayed Helsinki’s bid.
At the same time, Sweden is still awaiting the consent of the two countries.
Stoltenberg said in an April 3 speech that in any case, Finland's accession to NATO would provide more security for Stockholm.
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