Brussels, April 7: By deciding to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Finland on Thursday delivered a major blow to Russia.
NATO is an international military alliance of the Western Nations against Russia and its allies.
With this decision of Finland to become part of NATO, it is a historic realignment of Europe’s post-cold war security landscape triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Finland’s membership of NATO doubles Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance.
Finland had adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II (WW2), but its leaders signaled thy wanted to join NATO. “The era of nonalignment in our history has come to an end – a new era begins,” Finland President Sauli Liinisto said, before his country’s blue and white flag was raised outside NATO headquarters.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden praised Finland’s decision to join NATO and noted it (joining NATO) came on the 74th anniversary of the signing of NATO’s founding treaty on April 4, 1949. “When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, he thought he could divide Europe and NATO. But he has been proved wrong,” Biden said.
The US President further said, “Today, we are more united than ever. And together – strengthened by our newest ally, Finland – we will continue to preserve transatlantic security, defend every inch of NATO terriroty and meet any and all challenges we face”
Speaking on the occasion, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said that Finland now has the strongest friends and allies in the world. Joining NATO puts Finland under the alliance’s Article Five, the defence pledge that an attack on one member “shall be considered an attack against them all”.
Not unexpectedly, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy send his congratulations to Finland, writing that, “amid Russian aggression, the Alliance became the only effective guarantee of security in the region.”
At home in Russia, Moscow erupted in fury at the move, which takes its frontier with NATO member states to 2500 Kms, branding it an “assault” on Russia’s security interests.
EOM
