FINLAND’S FLAG WILL be hoisted outside Nato headquarters tomorrow when it becomes the 31st member of the Western alliance, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

“Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a historic meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels.

Last Friday, Stoltenberg said Finland would formally become a Nato member within days after clearing the final obstacle to joining.

That final obstacle fell on Thursday when after months of delays, Turkey’s parliament became the last member of the US-led military alliance to ratify Finland’s application.

I congratulated President @niinisto on the completion of the historic ratification of #Finland’s accession. I look forward to raising #Finland’s flag at #NATO HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger & safer.

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) March 31, 2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year upended European security and pushed Finland and its neighbour Sweden to drop decades of non-alignment and seek to join Nato’s protective umbrella.

Their applications were accepted at a June alliance summit that was designed to show the Western world’s desire to stand up to Russia in the face of Europe’s most grave conflict since World War II.

While Finland is set to become a member, Sweden’s application remains stuck because of ongoing resistance from both Turkey and Hungary.

But speaking last week, Stoltenberg insisted that “all allies agree that a rapid conclusion of the ratification process for Sweden will be in everyone’s interest.”

“I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the Nato family as soon as possible,” he said.

- © AFP 2023