Today Finland becomes the 31st member NATO and along with it, another country of the Alliance borders with Russia something that, paradoxically, was one of Moscow’s constant security concerns.
“This forces us to take countermeasures to guarantee our security,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Finland’s entry into the Atlantic alliance and the fact that the border between it and Russia now twice as much.
accession of Finland to NATO It was accelerated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. It went hand in hand with Sweden’s candidacy, but the latter was reluctant to ratify it until Sweden extradites people Ankara considers linked to terrorist organizations.
These are the most important facts of Finland’s NATO accession process, in many respects parallel to the Swedish accession process, which, however, has not yet been completed:
February 24, 2022: Russia invades Ukraine And NATO refers to Article 4, which is activated when one of the member countries is threatened. Although he announces that he will not interfere, he indicates that he will have a deterrent role.
February 25, 2022: Russia condemns the West’s attempts to include Finland and Sweden in the Atlantic Alliance and warns of the serious consequences that their entry into this organization will entail.
March 1, 2022: The Finnish government announces the shipment Ukraine 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,500 anti-tank guns, a historic decision that marks the first exception to Finland’s policy of neutrality.
March 14, 2022: Finns’ support for their country’s accession to NATOwhich already reaches 62% and represents a sharp change from the traditional position in favor of neutrality.
April 14, 2022: Russia threatens to place nuclear weapons in the Baltic if Sweden and Finland enter into NATO.
April 28, 2022: NATO will welcome Sweden and Finland “with open arms” if they apply to join the organization, says Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
May 12, 2022: President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin support Finland’s entry into NATO in a decision that runs counter to more than eighty years of non-alignment.
May 18, 2022:Sweden and Finland are applying to join the Atlantic Alliance.
June 28, 2022:Turkey lifts the veto for these two countries when joining the Organization the day before the start of the NATO summit in Madrid.
July 6, 2022: 30 NATO ambassadors sign accession protocols Finland and Sweden.
November 5, 2022: NATO says Sweden and Finland they are in line with Turkish conditions, which are to lift the arms embargo on Turkey and change its anti-terrorism laws.
December 24, 2022:Turkey requires both countries to fulfill the conditions for joining the Alliance, namely: stop providing safe haven to groups it considers terrorists, both the PKK and Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey; Kurdish militias or the Gülen Islamist sect, which he blames for the failed 2016 coup.
January 30, 2023: Finland insists on joining with Sweden, despite the fact that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to share the accession process of both countries.
February 1, 2023: Türkiye supports accession Finland but he objects to Sweden after the Swedish-Danish far right burned copies of the Koran, first in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm and then in Copenhagen.
February 14, 2023: Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the “important thing” is not whether both countries join “together”, but that they become members “as soon as possible”.
February 27, 2023:Turkey confirms a March 9 meeting with Sweden and Finland in Brussels, and Stoltenberg insists they fit the bill.
March 1, 2023:The Finnish parliament overwhelmingly approves joining the Alliance.
March 9, 2023:Türkiye, Sweden and Finland They recognize advances for expansion.
March 17, 2023:Türkiye gives green light to entry Finland but not Sweden, whose accession negotiations will continue.
March 22, 2023:The Swedish Parliament overwhelmingly approves the entry into NATO.
April 4, 2023: Finland becomes a full member NATO. (EFE)
Source: RPP
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