"It's a historic moment": Finland's foreign minister on accession to NATO
Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto signs NATO accession document in Brussels headquaters. Photo: HS
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, signed the document on Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance.
The ceremony took place in front of the cameras at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, the European Pravda reports.
The publication says the head of the Finnish diplomacy called this moment historic.
Haavisto emphasized that around the same time, Turkey would submit the decision on the ratification of Finland's membership to the US Secretary of State.
These steps remove the last bureaucratic hurdles on Finland's path to NATO and will allow Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to formally invite Finland to join the alliance. He is expected to do so soon.
Photo: HS
After that, the blue and white flag of the country will be raised next to the flags of the allies. It will fly between the flags of Estonia and France. The official ceremony of Finland's accession to NATO will begin at 16:30 Kyiv time.
Finland will become the 31st North Atlantic Treaty Organization member on April 4 after the record-breaking completion of the ratification process to join the defense alliance.
The Prime Minister of Poland has already congratulated the new alliance member on the historic event.
"As of today, the alliance includes 31 countries. Strong partners ensure the security of Poland, our region, and the whole world," Morawiecki said.
On March 23, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö signed the law on the country's accession to NATO. Thus, the national recognition process of the country's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance was completed.
