Finland officially joined NATO today on the first day of the NATO foreign ministers meeting, which convened in Brussels this morning. The Finnish flag went up outside NATO headquarters while the NATO flag went up outside the Finnish foreign ministry in Helsinki. How ironic that Finland’s membership in NATO became official two days after the Finnish government which brought the country into NATO was turned out of office in a highly contested election (though it’s quite possible that the NATO issue had nothing to do with the outcome —ed.).
In an article entitled “Finland Deals a Blow To Putin As It Enters NATO,” the New York Times called Finland’s NATO membership “a strategic defeat” for Vladimir Putin, “a power shift spurred by the Ukraine war” that is a “huge plus” for the alliance. “Nato’s border with Russia is doubling and the alliance has gained access to a strong military with a deep history of countering its bigger neighbor,” says the NYT. It’s possible that many Finns will come to regret the decision to join NATO as it, along with Finland’s joining the EU sanctions, has brought to a halt the daily economic and social activity that once flourished across the border with Russia. That activity is now in the process of being replaced by NATO military deployments.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik that Russia will respond to Finland’s joining the alliance by taking additional measures to ensure military security in the event of deployment of forces and assets of other NATO members in Finland.
