NATO top diplomats meet as Finland joins alliance

NATO foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels for a two-day summit to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The meeting coincides with the 74th anniversary of the alliance's founding.

At the same time, Finland is becoming the 31st member of NATO, doubling the length of the alliance's border with Russia. Although Finland had to overcome Turkish opposition, the Nordic country completed all the formalities in well under a year, making it the fastest accession process in the alliance's recent history.

Only the ceremonial part remains. Finland's foreign minister will hand the accession papers to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the keeper of NATO's founding treaty, and then the country's blue-and-white flag will be hoisted alongside those of its new allies, in front of the gleaming headquarters in Brussels.

Stoltenberg: Putin is getting the opposite of what he wanted

Finland's accession to NATO will be a historic event and direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, adding the alliance would ensure that Sweden will also become a full-fledged member.

"[Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin had as a declared goal of the invasion of Ukraine to get less NATO," he told reporters ahead of a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers. "He is getting exactly the opposite. ... Finland today, and soon also Sweden will become a full fledged member of the alliance."

Russia decried the move as as an "assault" on Russia's security and national interests. "The expansion of NATO is an attack on our security and Russia's national interests," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russia would be forced to take countermeasures accordingly, he added.  

Finland is in, Sweden still out

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 neighbouring Russia.

Finland applied for NATO membership alongside Sweden in May 2022 in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its application got tangled up in Ankara's opposition to Sweden's entry.

Sweden's application for membership remains blocked by Turkey due to a number of sticking points, among them Ankara's concerns over what it says is a lack of cooperation in fighting terrorism. All NATO members must unanimously agree to admit new members.

Talks with Ukraine

The accession ceremony for Finland will be followed by a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, a high-level forum for ministers of the alliance to discuss cooperation with Kiev. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is to take part.

The NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting is taking place over objections from Hungary. Budapest has accused Ukraine of failing to respect the Hungarian language rights of the country's Transcarpathian ethnic minority.

Hungary, like Turkey, has also not yet ratified Sweden's NATO membership. In a government statement, Hungary cited "an ample amount of grievances" with Sweden over EU budget funds, among other things.

dh/es (AFP, dpa, Reuters)