Finland formally has joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, the world’s largest military alliance.
The country formally became the 31st member of the Organisation on Tuesday at a ceremony in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
Finland Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto expressed the belief that the move would promote stability in Europe.
“For Finland, the most important objective at the meeting will be to emphasize NATO’s support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression,” Haavisto said.
Ahead of the ceremony, NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg had described the week as an historic one.
“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’’, he said.
Writing by Annabel Nwachukwu