NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Finland will become the 31st member of the military alliance on Tuesday.
“From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
Stoltenberg said that Turkey, the last country to have ratified Finland's membership, will hand its official texts to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday as NATO foreign ministers gather in Brussels.
Stoltenberg said he would then invite Finland to do the same. A flag-raising ceremony to add the Finnish flag to those of the other members will take place at NATO headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.
Stoltenberg told reporters, "We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole. Sweden will also be safer as a result."
Responding to Finland's NATO membership, Russia said it will strengthen its military capacity. Quoting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, news agency RIA reported that Russia will strengthen military capacity in the west and northwest in response to Finland joining NATO.
