Finland Becomes 31st Member Of NATO

Finland has formally joined NATO after Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto delivered the accession documents to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at NATO HQ in Brussels, breaking a tradition of ratification taking place in the United States.

• Finland President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement: "The era of military non-alignment in our history has come to an end."
• Niinisto clarified that "Finland's membership is not targeted against anyone. Nor does it change the foundations or objectives of Finland's foreign and security policy," after Moscow pledged yesterday to take “retaliatory measures” to address security threats and bolster forces on the Finnish border if NATO moved additional troops into the region.
• Focus now turns to Sweden whose NATO bid remains blockaded by Turkey over perceived inaction dealing with Kurdish terrorist groups.
• Niinisto: "Finland's membership is not complete without that of Sweden."
• Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Finnish Permanent State Secretary Jukka Salovaara yesterday, “reiterated their belief that Sweden is ready to join the Alliance now."
• US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said: “It’s a really big week for the Alliance... we hope they will be joined by Sweden in the not-too-distant future.”