BRUSSELS (AP) — Finland joined the NATO military alliance Tuesday, dealing a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Nordic country’s membership doubles Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Finland had adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II, but its leaders signaled they wanted to join NATO just months after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through its neighbors.
“The era of nonalignment in our history has come to an end -– a new era begins,” President Sauli Niinistö said before his country’s blue-and-white flag was raised outside NATO headquarters. A short distance away, outside the security fence, a few dozen people wrapped in flags of their own chanted, “Ukraine needs NATO.”
In praising Finland’s membership, U.S. President Joe Biden noted it came on the 74th anniversary of the signing of NATO’s founding treaty on April 4, 1949.
“When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could divide Europe and NATO. He was wrong,” Biden said in a statement. “Today, we are more united than ever. And together — strengthened by our newest ally, Finland — we will continue to preserve transatlantic security, defend every inch of NATO territory, and meet any and all challenges we face.”
The move is a strategic and political setback for Putin, who has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward Russia and partly used that as a justification for the invasion.
“I’m tempted to say this is maybe the one thing that we can thank Mr. Putin for because he once again here precipitated something he claims to want to prevent by Russia’s aggression, causing many countries to believe that they have to do more to look out for their own defense and to make sure that they can deter possible Russian aggression going forward,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said before accepting the documents that made Finland’s membership official.
The U.S. State Department is the repository of NATO texts concerning membership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent his congratulations to Finland, writing on Telegram that “amid Russian aggression, the Alliance became the only effective guarantee of security in the region.”
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Finland officially becomes the 31st member of NATO https://t.co/pSZXA0gGXU pic.twitter.com/irX9n3vHty
— The Hill (@thehill) April 4, 2023#UPDATE Finland's blue-and-white Nordic cross flag was hoisted outside NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday as it became the 31st member of the alliance, in the first step of a realignment of Europe's defences sparked by Russia's war on Ukraine ➡️ https://t.co/qGdUSM5oxf pic.twitter.com/r5CTLeup2n
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 4, 2023
I don't think most people realize how much this screws Russia for decades to come (unless Russia decides to become a normal country and live in peace with its neighbors). And when Sweden arrives…yikes. Already the most powerful alliance in the history of the planet. pic.twitter.com/tOdhnpZ85y
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) April 4, 2023
Yeah, Russia will keep taking countermeasures until NATO includes all of Europe, most of Asia, all of North and South America, Australia, some penguins in Antarctica, and everything else out to the asteroid belt.
Heck of a job, Putin. https://t.co/LODgJahDXY
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) April 4, 2023
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