HELSINKI/BRUSSELS — Finland formally joined NATO on Tuesday, its flag unfurling outside the military bloc’s Brussels headquarters, in a historic policy shift…
Stoltenberg earlier noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had cited opposition to NATO’s eastward enlargement as one justification for invading Ukraine.
“It is a great day for Finland and I want to say that it is an important day for NATO,” Niinisto said at a joint news conference with Stoltenberg. The Ukrainian government also hailed Finland’s move. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram: “FI made the right choice. NATO is also a key goal for Ukraine.”The event marks the end of an era of military non-alignment for Finland that began after the country repelled an invasion attempt by the Soviet Union during World War Two and opted to try to maintain friendly relations with neighboring Russia.
NATO has repeatedly stressed that it is solely a defensive alliance and does not threaten Russia. Moscow says the funneling of heavy weaponry to Ukraine by NATO countries since the war began proves the West is bent on destroying Russia.Article content “I feel it’s a good thing that Finland is joining NATO. We have been here next to Russia for ages,” said Outi Lantimaki, 59, a designer at a shipyard. “My father was in the war with the Russians so this is like a personal thing to me.”
Finland and its Nordic neighbor Sweden applied together last year to join NATO, but the Swedish application has been held up by NATO members Turkey and Hungary.