Finland to Become NATO Member in Coming Days — Stoltenberg

Finland will officially become the 31st member of NATO, following Türkiye's ratification of the Finnish Alliance bid.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, stated on Friday that all 30 NATO members have ratified the protocol on Finland's accession. He congratulated Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

"Finland will formally join our Alliance in the coming days. Their membership will make Finland safer and NATO stronger," Stoltenberg said.

#Finland 🇫🇮 will formally join our Alliance in the coming days.
Their membership will make Finland safer & #NATO stronger. I look forward to also welcoming #Sweden 🇸🇪 as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible.

—@jensstoltenberg pic.twitter.com/ueaOwWdLaX

— Oana Lungescu (@NATOpress) March 31, 2023

Stoltenberg points out that Finland has very capable forces, advanced capabilities, and strong democratic institutions, so its membership will bring a lot to NATO.

He is looking forward to the opportunity to welcome Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible.

"Allies agree that a swift completion of the ratification process for Sweden would be in everyone's interest," Stoltenberg said.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last May after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Parliament of Türkiye on Friday night ratified the protocol on Finland's NATO (Ukr) accession after months of resistance and blocking of Finland's bid to join NATO.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has yet to confirm the ratification of Finland's bid. He has 15 days for that.

Stoltenberg believes that Sweden can still join NATO by the summer even though its bid has not been ratified by Türkiye and Hungary.