Finland officially joined NATO today, Tuesday, and its flag was hoisted in front of the military bloc’s headquarters in Brussels, while Russia threatened to take countermeasures.
Finland’s accession to NATO ended seven decades of military discord, doubled the length of NATO’s shared border with Russia, and strengthened the eastern flank as the war in Ukraine dragged on with no solution in sight.
Reuters said the Finnish flag was hoisted along with the flags of 30 other members of the alliance while a military band played.
“For nearly 75 years, this great Alliance has protected our nations and continues to do so today,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the ceremony.
Finnish President Saul Niinisto said that Finland’s most important contribution to NATO’s deterrence and common defense would be to defend its own territory, and noted that there is still a lot of work to be done for its coordination with NATO.
“I want to say it’s a great day for Finland and an important day for NATO as well,” Niinisto said at a joint press conference with Stoltenberg.
In response, the Russian presidency “Kremlin” said that Russia should take “countermeasures”.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also said that Finland’s move increased the risk of escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
