Finland Tuesday, dealing a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of EuropeB次元官网网址檚 post-Cold War security landscape triggered by MoscowB次元官网网址檚 invasion of Ukraine.
The Nordic countryB次元官网网址檚 membership doubles RussiaB次元官网网址檚 border with the worldB次元官网网址檚 biggest security alliance. Finland had adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II, but its leaders signaled they wanted to join NATO just months after MoscowB次元官网网址檚 invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through its neighbors.
The move is a strategic and political setback for Putin, who has long complained about NATOB次元官网网址檚 expansion toward Russia and partly used that as a justification for the invasion.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 tempted to say this is maybe the one thing that we can thank Mr. Putin for because he once again here precipitated something he claims to want to prevent by RussiaB次元官网网址檚 aggression, causing many countries to believe that they have to do more to look out for their own defense and to make sure that they can deter possible Russian aggression going forward,B次元官网网址� U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said before accepting the documents that made FinlandB次元官网网址檚 membership official.
The U.S. State Department is the repository of NATO texts concerning membership.
Russia warned it would be forced to take B次元官网网址渞etaliatory measuresB次元官网网址� to address what it called security threats created by FinlandB次元官网网址檚 membership. It had also warned it would bolster forces near Finland if NATO sends any additional troops or equipment to what is its 31st member country.
The alliance says it poses no threat to Moscow.
Alarmed by , Finland, which shares a 1,340 kilometer (832 mile) border with Russia, applied to join in May, setting aside years of military nonalignment to seek protection under the organizationB次元官网网址檚 security umbrella.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great day for Finland and an important day for NATO, too,B次元官网网址� said Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. B次元官网网址淩ussia tried to create a sphere around them and, well, we are not a sphere. IB次元官网网址檓 sure that Finns themselves feel more secure, that we are living in a more stable world.B次元官网网址�
Neighboring Sweden, which has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, has also applied. But objections from NATO members Turkey and Hungary have delayed the process.
Niinisto said FinlandB次元官网网址檚 membership B次元官网网址渋s not complete without that of Sweden. The persistent efforts for a rapid Swedish membership continue.B次元官网网址�
Earlier, RussiaB次元官网网址檚 Foreign Ministry said Moscow B次元官网网址渨ill be forced to take military-technical and other retaliatory measures to counter the threats to our national security arising from FinlandB次元官网网址檚 accession to NATO.B次元官网网址�
It said FinlandB次元官网网址檚 move marks B次元官网网址渁 fundamental change in the situation in Northern Europe, which had previously been one of the most stable regions in the world.B次元官网网址�
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said FinlandB次元官网网址檚 membership reflects the allianceB次元官网网址檚 anti-Russian course and warned that Moscow will respond depending on what weapons NATO allies place there. But he also sought to play down the impact, noting that Russia has no territorial disputes with Finland.
ItB次元官网网址檚 not clear what additional military resources Russia could send to the Finnish border. Moscow has deployed the bulk of its most capable military units to Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said no more troops would be sent to Finland unless it asked for help.
The country is now protected by what Stoltenberg called NATOB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渋ron-clad security guarantee,B次元官网网址� under which all member countries vow to come to the defense of any ally that comes under attack.
But Stoltenberg refused to rule out the possibility of holding more military exercises there and said that NATO would not allow RussiaB次元官网网址檚 demands to dictate the organizationB次元官网网址檚 decisions.
B次元官网网址淲e are constantly assessing our posture, our presence. We have more exercises, we have more presence, also in the Nordic area,B次元官网网址� he said.
FinlandB次元官网网址檚 Parliament, meanwhile, said its website was hit with a so-called denial-of-service attack, which made the site hard to use, with many pages not loading and some functions not available.
A pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057 (16) claimed responsibility, saying the attack was retaliation for Finland joining NATO. The claim could not be immediately verified.
The hacker group, which has reportedly acted on MoscowB次元官网网址檚 orders, has taken party in a slew of cyberattacks on the U.S. and its allies in the past. Finnish public broadcaster YLE said the same group hit the ParliamentB次元官网网址檚 site last year.
FinlandB次元官网网址檚 entry, marked with a flag-raising ceremony at NATO headquarters, falls on the organizationB次元官网网址檚 very own birthday, the 74th anniversary of the signing of its founding Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949. It also coincides with a meeting of the allianceB次元官网网址檚 foreign ministers.
B次元官网网址擫orne Cook And Matthew Lee, The Associated Press
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