Finland will officially join NATO tomorrow, Jens Stoltenberg announces

Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Helsinki would be officially admitted to the coalition on Tuesday

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (

Image: AFP via Getty Images

Finland will officially join NATO tomorrow when the military alliance kicks off a crucial summit.

The Nordic nation, along with Sweden, applied for membership last May, just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The 30 current member countries have ratified the process for Finland, which means that Helsinki will enjoy the full protection of the armed coalition from tomorrow.

Welcoming a "great historic day", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today: "Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO, which will make Finland safer and our alliance stronger."

A flag-raising ceremony to add Finland to those of other members will take place at NATO Headquarters in Brussels this afternoon.

Sweden's application for membership is blocked by Turkey, but Stoltenberg insisted: "I am fully convinced that Sweden will become a member.

He was speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels (

Picture:

Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

"It is a priority for NATO, for me, to make sure this happens as soon as possible."

The joining of the two nations is a blow to Vladimir Putin's attempts to push the Western alliance away from Russia's borders.

Neither Sweden nor Finland, which shares an 832-mile border with Russia, had applied for NATO membership until Moscow invaded Ukraine.

But the conflict triggered Helsinki's candidacy for the coalition.

"From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance - it will participate in all our meetings, activities (and) military structures as a full member," Stoltenberg said.

"It will be a good day for Finnish security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole."

Mr Stoltenberg...