Finland has become a member of NATO, marking a historic shift that has sparked anger in Russia, where officials have portrayed the move as a threat. The Finnish flag was raised at the Brussels headquarters of the world’s largest military alliance on Tuesday afternoon, nearly a year after Helsinki officially applied to join. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto completed the accession process by presenting an official document to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken; the United States Department of State is the repository of NATO texts relating to membership.
Jens Stoltenberg, the head of NATO, welcomed the move, describing it as “a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole.” He went on to state that Finland’s membership would “make Finland safer and NATO stronger” and that “this has been the fastest accession process in NATO’s history.” Finnish President Sauli Väinämö Niinistö emphasized that membership was not “targeted against anyone,” adding that his country was “stable and predictable”. Finland applied to join NATO in May, alongside Sweden, as concerns about Russian aggression rose in northern Europe following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s border with Russia spans 1,340 km, and officials in Russia, including President Vladimir Putin, have long argued that NATO enlargement threatens its security. In response to Finland’s membership, Russia has promised to increase military capacity in its western and north-western regions. This move is a strategic and political blow to Putin, but the alliance says it poses no harm to Moscow.
Finnish membership means Russia’s border with NATO countries is now doubled, representing a major change in Europe’s security landscape. Finland adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II. However, months after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through Moscow’s neighbours, Finland’s leaders signalled they wanted to join the alliance. This move is considered to increase the security of Finland, according to Teivo Teivainen, professor of world politics at the University of Helsinki. He told Al Jazeera, “Most people in Finland think that Finland is safe under the protection of the fifth article of NATO.” The idea behind Article 5 is that if one NATO member is attacked, every country in the alliance should take it as an act of aggression.
Neighbouring Sweden, which had avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, is being stalled by objections from NATO members Turkey and Hungary. Finnish President Sauli Väinämö Niinistö stated that “Finland’s membership is not complete without Sweden,” and that he looks forward to Sweden joining as the 32nd member.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has stated that Finland’s accession “creates the risks of a significant expansion of the conflict” in Ukraine, but he also stated that it would not affect the outcome of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. Just before accepting the documents, Blinken remarked, “I’m tempted to say this is maybe the one thing that we can thank Putin for.”