“Today is a truly historic day, a vital day for the Atlantic Alliance, for security, for all of us. I am tempted to say that it is the only thing for which we can be grateful to Vladimir Putin. We are already 31, but we still have a lot work ahead.” With these words of the Secretary of State of the USA, Antony Blinken, with this idea, NATO has officially welcomed Finland today in a discreet ceremony in Brussels, at the headquarters, in which the national flag has been hoisted and in which the allies have wanted to make clear that the process will not be complete until Sweden can celebrate the same.
“Starting today, 31 flags will fly together, a symbol of our unity and solidarity. Membership is good for Finland, it is good for Nordic security and it is good for NATO as a whole. I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full member of our Alliance and I look forward to welcoming Sweden back as soon as possible Putin wanted to close our doors and today we show the world that he failed, that aggression and intimidation don’t work Instead of less NATO , has achieved the opposite, and our door remains firmly open,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded.
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine under all kinds of excuses, lies and pretexts, such as the threat posed to its security by Kiev’s desire to join NATO. Putin’s ironic solution was to occupy the country, end its sovereignty and thus de facto bring Russia to the very border of the EU and the organization. He hoped with his campaign, his threats and his diplomatic pressure to break NATO, generate division and exploit weaknesses. What it has achieved is more defense spending, two countries historically reluctant to join, such as Sweden and Finland, changed their minds and the fastest accession process in history has been closed in just 404 days, with which Russia has now 1,300 more kilometers of land border with its enemy, double that until yesterday Monday.
“Today is a great day for my country,” said President Sauli Niinisto, who attended the ceremony in person, which coincides with the 74th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the signing of the Treaty. of Washington, and has expressed relief. This Sunday the country had elections, everything indicates that there will be a change of government and it will be up to the next one to decide if they want troops from their partners, international bases, what type of systems to house or what to do in the face of nuclear weapons.
Finland and Sweden applied to join last May, after public opinion in both countries took an extraordinary turn. The Finnish case is, if possible, the most striking, since during the Cold War its proximity to the USSR forced it into a subordinate role, with more than uncomfortable moments and with Moscow playing a key role in its foreign policy, but also in the national one. . In June, at the Summit in Madrid, all the Allies invited them to join, after Turkey lifted the veto it had placed on both.
Since then, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accepted Helsinki, but not Stockholm. On June 1, the new Swedish legislation will enter into force, which may address some of the Turkish obsessions with the Turkish exiles in the country, whom it accuses of terrorism and financing from the EU the attacks on its territory. The Government has given the guarantees it can, but has reiterated that it cannot force the hand of judges nor can it go against its Constitution to grant the requested extraditions. So Erdogan continues to hold the pulse.
The Alliance’s hope is that all 32 members would be ready for the next summit, in Lithuania in July, but that is going to be next to impossible. Next month there are elections in Turkey, a new parliament must be formed and the ratification process takes time. In addition, Hungary, always conflictive in foreign affairs, has not wanted to ratify Sweden either. Her Parliament gave the green light to Finland a few days ago, after dizzying the partridge for six months, and the blackmail of Orban, who brings EU fights to the NATO table, does not stop. A good example of these dynamics is that Finland has confirmed on Tuesday, when its accession was already secure, that it will join the complaint that the EU and other countries are presenting against Orban for the violation of the rights of the LGTBI collective. Something that until now could not for fear of reprisals.
Having separated the candidacy of the two Nordic countries has not been easy or an easy drink. In summer the message is that they would go hand in hand, but when it became clear that the Swedish road was clogged, a debate was held within the organization. There are those who believe that the wrong message is being sent, because before there was more force to put pressure on Erdogan and Orban. Others, on the other hand, prefer that Finland, the closest neighbour, be covered as soon as possible under the umbrella of Article 5 and assured mutual defense. Because Moscow has already warned that the decision will have consequences and that it will take measures to guarantee their security.
“Today is a great day, but we are going to make sure that Sweden also becomes a full member. All the Allies agreed to invite them and they have all signed the Protocol of Accession. What remains as far as Sweden is concerned is ratification in the parliaments I am confident that will happen soon I met with President Erdogan a few weeks ago, I also spoke to him on the phone recently and we agreed to restart the process, the meetings or the permanent registration mechanism, the meetings in Finland, Sweden and Turkey to also ensure that we can move forward on Sweden’s ratification,” Stoltenberg said.
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