The Flag of the West: Finland’s Accession to NATO and the Status of the Cold War in the Cold Cold Cold Middle East and the Security of the Nordic Region

BRUSSELS — Finland’s flag was raised on Tuesday afternoon at NATO headquarters, a deeply symbolic moment marking the Nordic nation’s official welcome into the group and the shifting power calculations as the West shores up its allegiances in response to the war in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were on hand as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, established Finland’s accession.

Sweden is still waiting to join. Hungary and Turkey – both NATO members – have resisted; Turkey accuses Sweden of harboring Kurdish separatists whom it regards as terrorists.

Russia would strengthen its military capability in the west and northwest if NATO members deployed troops and equipment toFinnish territory, the deputy foreign minister said.

Matti Pesu is a security expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. It must also think through its nuclear strategy and its views toward nuclear arms control, now that it will be covered by the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

aggression and intimidation do not work, that is what we show the world today. He has achieved the opposite of less NATO and our door remains firmly open.

It includes the protection offered by NATO’s Article 5 principle, which states that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. Since 1949, when it was founded, it has been a cornerstone of the alliance.

Other NATO members, including US made F/A-18 Fighters, German-designed Leopard main battle tanks and K9 Howitzers, also operate the same weapons systems as the Finns.

A November report from the Washington-based Wilson Center lists three key areas where Finland benefits NATO: reserve forces, technology access and artillery forces.

The Wilson Center report also noted Finland’s strong cyber security record, pointing out the country is home to Nokia, “a major provider of 5G infrastructure,” and one of three major providers of 5G infrastructure in the world, along with Sweden’s Ericsson and China’s Huawei.

It was claimed that Finns could muster 900,000 reserve soldiers who had been trained as conscripts in the armed forces. The wartime strength of Finnish forces is 280,000 troops, it says.

What will the new Finnish prime minister tell us about NATO and its relations with Russia? On the status of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, Finland’s first open-door policy

NATO has an open-door policy, meaning that any country can be invited to join if it expresses an interest, as long as it is able and willing to uphold the principles of the alliance’s founding treaty.

At the ceremony on Tuesday, Mr. Stoltenberg and Mr. Niinisto said they would continue to press Turkey and Hungary to ratify membership for Sweden rapidly. The accession protocols for Sweden must be approved by them without delay so that we can welcome Sweden into the alliance as soon as possible.

Putin has made blocking NATO expansion his top priority, so it was a shame that he did not attend the NATO expansion ceremony.

Mr. Niinisto said that it was a great day for his country. History has many important moments, he added, but “this is the day most historic to us and to our partners.” Russia tried to restrict Finland’s freedom of choice and “tried to create a sphere around them,” he said. “We are not a sphere.”

A new Finnish government, still to be negotiated after an election on Sunday, will have to decide whether Finland will accept foreign troops on its soil, for example — NATO now has troops in other frontline states with Russia — or even nuclear weapons belonging to allies.

Turkey’s president, who is up for a new term on May 14, is upset with what he considers Sweden’s insufficient commitment to fighting terrorism, focusing on those living in Sweden whom he regards as terrorists. Hungary is also blocking Sweden’s entry.

The NATO-Ukraine Commission, a more formal meeting previously blocked by Hungary, will be convened during the NATO session. That will focus how to help Ukraine wage a counteroffensive against Russian troops, expected to begin in late spring or early summer, and how to intensify Ukraine’s partnership with NATO in the future, Mr. Stoltenberg said.

Sweden vs Finland defense cooperation: a problem for Finland and Sweden during the Cold War, with a statement by Biden on Tuesday

Emma Ashford, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center’s Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program, says that the Finnish people “have a long history of self-defense, resilience. They fought a battle against Russia in the 1930s for their own defense against the Soviet Union, and kept it up through the Cold War.

In his statement on Tuesday, Biden pointed out that both Sweden andFinland applied for NATO membership at the same time last year.

Emma Ashford of the Stimson Center points out that this is a problem for the military operations of Finland and Sweden, since they have long had integrated defense cooperation.