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BELGIUM, KUPANG TIMES - Finland, officially becomes a member of the 31st North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is certain to end the Neutral Position, Tuesday (04/04/23).
Finland's decision to join NATO, because they felt threatened due to the Russian Military Invasion in Ukraine.
Finland and Sweden signed up to become new members of the military alliance in May 2022, seeking protection from Russia, through NATO's collective defense guarantees.
Secretary General of NATO. Jens Stoltenberg, said that; "Finland's membership in the alliance is an advance in maintaining the security of Scandinavia and NATO as a whole,"
"This is a good day for the security of Finland, for the defense of Scandinavia's security and for NATO as a whole,"
Meanwhile, Sweden's application to become a member of NATO is still on hold, because Turkey, which is a member of NATO, believes that Stockholm refuses to extradite terrorist suspects in its country.
Another NATO member, Hungary, also objected to Sweden's entry.
The two Scandinavian countries joined the European Union in 1995 but did not join NATO to avoid provocations by Russia against extending the alliance closer to its borders.
However, the Russian military invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 has forced and encouraged NATO to reconsider the status of the two Scandinavian countries and take steps that could change Europe's geopolitical landscape.
Tuesday, (04/04/23), NATO held a celebration at its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, welcoming Finland's entry into NATO.
Before Finland, North Macedonia was the last country to be accepted into NATO in March 2020.
Finland is also ensured to get strong security guarantees, after officially becoming a member of NATO.
"It's hard to imagine a better day to celebrate the founding anniversary of NATO while welcoming a new member to the alliance,"|Stoltenberg (Secretary General of NATO)
Stoltenberg was referring to the signing of the Washington Agreement, which formed the basis of NATO, on April 4, 1949.
On the same date this year, Finland officially became a member and its flag was soon hoisted at NATO headquarters in a ceremony.
"Finland will receive strict security guarantees based on the principle of mutual defense as stated in article five of the Washington Agreement,"
"The 'one for all, all for one' rule will now apply in Finland."
"Given that the process of ratifying Sweden's membership application is still incomplete, the country is in a much better position as an invitee,"
I promise, I will work hard to finalize the ratification and hold another meeting between the representatives of Turkey, Finland and Sweden,"|Stoltenberg (Secretary General of NATO)
|Narration: Law, Goverment, Security, Defense,
|Text: W.J.B
| Literacy Resources: NBC, ABC, BBC, Reuters, Aljazeera News,
