Russia has said it will bolster its defences near its 1,300km border with Finland after the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that the Nordic country would formally join the transatlantic defence alliance on Tuesday.
The accession marks the end of an accelerated process that began last May, when Finland and neighbouring Sweden abandoned decades of military nonalignment to seek security as Nato members after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey last week became the last of the alliance’s 30 member states to ratify Finland’s application, but Turkey and Hungary continue to hold up Sweden’s bid. Stockholm said last week it was not sure it would join in time for a planned Nato summit in July.
“Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of Nato, making Finland safer and our alliance stronger,” Stoltenberg said in Brussels on Monday. “We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at Nato headquarters.”
Ankara and Helsinki would hand their official texts to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday, at which point Finland would become a Nato member, he said, describing the moment as “historic”.
Finland’s accession was “good for Finland’s security, for Nordic security and for Nato as a whole,” he added. “President Putin went to war against Ukraine with the clear aim to get less Nato. He’s getting the exact opposite.”
The Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, and the foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, will travel to Brussels to take part in the ceremony. “It is a historic moment for us,” Haavisto said in a statement after Stoltenberg’s announcement.
“For Finland, the most important objective at the meeting will be to emphasise Nato’s support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression. We seek to promote stability and security throughout the Euro-Atlantic region.”
In Moscow, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Alexander Grushko, responded to the news of Finland’s accession by saying Russia would increase its forces in its west and northwestern regions if necessary.
If the “forces and resources of other Nato members are deployed in Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure Russia’s military security” by “strengthening our military potential in the west and in the northwest”, Grushko said.
Turkey continues to delay Sweden’s accession, arguing that Stockholm is sheltering members of what Ankara considers terrorist groups – a charge Sweden denies – and has demanded their extradition as a step toward ratifying Swedish membership.
Relations were also hit by a demonstration in January near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at which a far-right politician burned a copy of the Qur’an. Sweden has said it takes Turkey’s allegations seriously.
Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, said last week he was no longer confident that his country would be able to join the alliance by July, after fresh objections from Hungary. “I think ‘hopeful’ in this context is better,” Billstrom said.
Hungary also objects to unspecified “grievances” over past Swedish criticisms of prime minister Viktor Orbán’s policies. Stoltenberg said Nato was working hard to get Sweden on board as soon as possible.
Officials are keen to bring Sweden in before US president Joe Biden and other alliance leaders meet in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on 11 and 12 July. “Sweden is not left alone. Sweden is as close as it can come as a full-fledged member,” Stoltenberg said.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said last year that Russia was taking “adequate countermeasures” in light of Finland’s and Sweden’s Nato membership bids and would form 12 units and divisions in its western military district.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
