Finland becomes 31st NATO member as Russia rages

BRUSSELS: Finland becomes the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday in a historic shift that drew an angry warning of “countermeasures” from the Kremlin.

Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine last year upended Europe’s security landscape and prompted Finland — and its neighbour Sweden — to drop decades of military non-alignment.

“Not so many years ago we thought it was unthinkable that Finland would become a member. Now they will be a fully-fledged member of our alliance and that is truly historic,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

“We are removing the room for miscalculation in Moscow about NATO’s readiness to protect Finland, and that makes Finland safer.”

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen called it “a win-win situation” ahead of the choreographed final formalities before Finland’s blue-and-white flag can be hoisted in front of NATO’s headquarters.

But Moscow decried the move as as an “assault” on Russia’s security and national interests.

“This forces us to take countermeasures… in tactical and strategic terms,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Joining NATO places Finland under the alliance’s Article Five, the collective defence pledge that an attack on one member “shall be considered an attack against them all”.

This was the guarantee Finnish leaders decided they needed as they watched Russian President Vladimir Putin’s devastating assault on Ukraine.

“He wanted less NATO along his borders. He wanted to close NATO’s door. No more NATO membership for any more countries in Europe. He’s getting exactly the opposite,” Stoltenberg said.