NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg informed that Finland will become a member of the Alliance in the coming days. All NATO countries have ratified its application for accession.
His address was published on the Twitter page of NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
"Finland will officially join our Alliance in the coming days. Membership will make Finland more secure and NATO stronger," noted the Secretary General.
He noted that Finland has combat-ready forces, enhanced capabilities and strong democratic institutions, so its membership will give NATO a lot.
At the same time, Stoltenberg emphasized that the allies agree that the rapid completion of the ratification of Swedenʼs accession to NATO will also be in everyoneʼs interests.
- In May 2022, Sweden and Finland renounced their traditional neutrality against the backdrop of Russiaʼs military invasion of Ukraine and submitted applications to join NATO. The Alliance promptly considered them and agreed to accept them. After that, the applications of these countries had to be ratified by the parliaments of all NATO members. But Turkey became the biggest opponent of accession — it put forward conditions for Sweden and Finland in exchange for ratification.
- In 2023, Turkey said that Finland had made better progress in meeting the conditions than Sweden. Therefore, on March 30, the Turkish parliament was the last to ratify Finlandʼs application. On the other hand, discussions are ongoing regarding Sweden — its entry is blocked by Hungary and Turkey.