Finland is Set to Join NATO on Tuesday
Tomorrow marks a huge day when it comes to unity around the world, with Finland becoming the 31st member of NATO. After experiencing the past seven years of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump chastising and threatening NATO, tomorrow marks another expansion of the largest military alliance on Earth.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Monday that Finland is set to join NATA, with the possibility of its neighbor Sweden following suit in the coming months.
"This is a historic week," Stoltenberg remarked, brimming with excitement from the eve of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. "From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance."
In a surprising twist, Turkey, the last holdout in ratifying Finland's membership, is set to hand its official texts to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. Stoltenberg soon plans to invite Finland to follow suit.
For years, Finland and Sweden had upheld non-alignment with NATO as a means of avoiding conflict with Moscow. However, amidst mounting aggression from Russian President Vladimir Putin's incursion into Ukraine, the two Scandinavian nations have been forced to reevaluate their neutral status.
Although Turkey has endorsed Finland's application, its stance on Sweden's potential NATO membership remains unclear. Turkish leader Erdogan has previously accused Finland and Sweden of harboring Kurdish "terrorist organizations," later softening his position on Finland. His opposition to Sweden's membership continues, demanding extradition of "terrorists" upon Turkish request, which Sweden has firmly rejected.
The growing military alliance is a great sign of strength for those nations who get to be apart of NATO.