On Tuesday, April 4, Finland officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), becoming its 31st member.
“Not so many years ago, we thought it was unthinkable that Finland would become a member,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. “Now they will be a fully-fledged member of our alliance, and that is truly historic.”
Article 10 of NATO outlines the process for countries to join the alliance. The body allows for the invitation of new members as long as the existing allies unanimously agree on the prospective state’s membership. However, before this, the country must meet specific prerequisites to be considered eligible, with membership available to any “European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.”
The Nordic nation applied for membership in May—only months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“By [Finland] becom[ing] a full-fledged member, we are removing the room for miscalculation in Moscow about NATO’s readiness to protect Finland, and that makes Finland safer and stronger, and all of us safer,” Stoltenberg said.
Russia’s aggression is likely the cause of the state’s desire to join NATO. In addition, Sweden has applied for membership but remains blocked by Hungary and Turkey. Both countries are thus abandoning their former military non-alignment. With the addition of Finland, NATO’s border with Russia has doubled, and this marks an immense setback for Russia.
“It is NATO that is expanding towards Russia, not Russia that is taking its military infrastructure towards the borders of NATO,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in response to the expansion of the alliance.
Finland joined NATO only a few weeks after Russia announced its plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia’s neighbor and ally. Tactical nuclear weapons are short-range, small-yield and are designed for use in military battlefields. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that storage facilities for these weapons will be constructed by July 1. However, it is unknown how many will be placed in Belarus. Putin also shared that Moscow has been working to modernize Belarusian warplanes, allowing them to carry the weapons.
“This movement adds to our concerns and worries for our safety…and we are taking measures to ensure our security,” Peskov stated. “And so it will be every time NATO approaches our borders in order to rebalance the security architecture on the continent.”
The enlargement of NATO to include Finland and likely Sweden in the near future highlights a profound advancement in history. In turn, many wonder if Ukraine will ever join the alliance, as this would wholly alter the scope of the Russia-Ukraine War.
