Finland today became the thirty-first full member of NATO after completing the membership process requested following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.which implies that the country is covered by article 5 of collective defense of the Alliance.
With the receipt of 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.
It might interest you: The challenge of central banks after OPEC+’s move to raise oil prices
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 accession to NATO occurs by depositing all ratification instruments with the US State Department.which guards the Washington Treaty, founding of the Alliance, but on this occasion the allies have decided that this delivery will be made in the hands of their 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 historyStoltenberg 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 Sweden’s instrument of ratification,” 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.
The last:
EFE International news agency based in Madrid and present in more than 110 countries.