Finland Joins NATO
April 4, 2023 9:45AM PDT
An empty flagpole stands between the national flags of France and Estonia outside NATO headquarters in Brussels, Monday, April 3, 2023. Finland awaits an official green light to become the 31st member of the world’s biggest security alliance as NATO foreign ministers prepare to meet in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
BRUSSELS (AP) — Finland has joined the NATO military alliance, dealing a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
With the Nordic nation entering the world’s biggest security alliance, NATO’s land border with Russia has doubled.
Finland had adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II.
But its leaders signaled they wanted to join the alliance just months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through Moscow’s neighbors.
Putin has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward Russia and partly used that as a justification for the invasion.
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