Russia has issued a warning as Finland joins the largest military alliance in the world as its 31st member.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Finland will join the world’s largest military alliance on Tuesday, becoming its 31st member.
In response, Russia has warned that it will strengthen its defences.
“This is a historic week,” Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday on the eve of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
“From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance.”
He said he hopes Sweden, who applied for membership at the same time as Finland, will also be able to join NATO in the coming months.
The former Norwegian prime minister said on Tuesday “we will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters.
It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole”.
Stoltenberg said Turkey, the last NATO country to have ratified Finland’s membership, will hand its official texts to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.
Stoltenberg said he would then invite Finland to do the same.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen will attend the ceremony along with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
“It is a historic moment for us,” Haavisto said in a statement. “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.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Moscow would respond to Finland becoming a NATO member by bolstering its defences.
“We will strengthen our military potential in the west and in the northwest,” Grushko said in remarks carried by the state RIA Novosti news agency.
“In case of deployment of forces of other NATO members on the territory of Finland, we will take addition steps to ensure Russia’s military security.”