Finland, a country bordering Russia, officially becomes the 31st member of NATO

It’s official. After three decades of military non-alignment, Finland became, on Tuesday April 4, the 31st member of NATO, the military alliance created by the United States with European countries during the Cold War. This entry was sealed by handing over the membership documents to the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken, whose country is the depositary of the founding treaty. “We declare Finland the 31st member of the Alliance with the receipt of these documents”Blinken said at a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia upset security in Europe and reshuffled the cards, pushing Finland and Sweden to want to join the protective umbrella of NATO. By joining NATO, Finland, which was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939, doubles the length of the border with Russia of the US-led alliance. She obtains the protection of Article 5, the collective defense undertaking according to which an attack on a member “will be considered an attack on all members”.

Russia promises ‘countermeasures’

Objections from Turkey and Hungary have delayed Helsinki’s membership for months, and are still blocking Stockholm’s. “I am absolutely confident that Sweden will also become a member. It is, for NATO, for me, a priority to ensure that this happens as quickly as possible”assured Jens Stoltenberg, the head of NATO.

Opposite, the Kremlin promised on Tuesday to take “countermeasures” after Finland joined NATO, calling the enlargement of the Western alliance a“security breach” of Russia. “This is a further aggravation of the situation. The enlargement of NATO is an attack on our security and national interests” Russians, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “It forces us to take countermeasureshe continued. We will follow carefully what is happening in Finland, (…) how it threatens us. Measures will be taken accordingly. Our army will report back in due course.”.