Finland will officially become a member of the world’s largest security alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), on Tuesday, but the head of the military alliance said he would not send more troops to the Nordic country unless it asked for help.
Neighboring Russia has already warned that NATO will strengthen its defenses near the Finnish border if it deploys additional troops or equipment on the territory of its 31st member state.
“No more NATO troops will be sent to Finland without Finland’s consent,” NATO Secretary-General General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. But he did not rule out the possibility of holding more military exercises there, saying NATO would not allow Russia’s demands to dictate the organization’s decisions.
Later in the day on Tuesday, Finland will officially become the 31st member of NATO and take its place in the world’s largest security alliance. Finland’s blue-and-white flag will also be raised outside NATO’s headquarters in Brussels along with the flags of other member states. The President, Foreign Minister and Defense Minister of Finland will participate in the event.
Meanwhile, in Finland’s capital Helsinki, NATO flags have been placed alongside the country’s flag. The event is taking place on the 74th anniversary of NATO. On April 4, 1949, the Washington Treaty was signed to establish NATO.
It is a coincidence that the foreign ministers of the alliance are also meeting. Turkey is the last NATO country to approve Finland’s request to join the alliance. He did so on Thursday. He will hand over the official documents of his decision to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the ceremony. Finland will then submit its final documents to Blinken to make its membership official.
Concerned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022 after years of military non-alignment. Its neighbor Sweden has also applied, but it may take some time to join the alliance.
There is a 1340 kilometer long border between Finland and Russia. The move is a strategic and political setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has long complained that NATO is expanding toward Russia.
