Finland to be welcomed into Nato on Tuesday
Finland will be welcomed into Nato on Tuesday after the approval of its application to join the alliance.
The success of the application hinged upon the approval of member state Turkey, which had previously obstructed Finland's attempt to join the defence alliance for several months, accusing the Nordic country of "housing Kurdish terrorist organisations".
However, the parliament in Ankara voted unanimously to approve the application last week.
For any expansion of Nato, all its member states have to vote unanimously for the new addition to the alliance.
Speaking at a pre-ministerial press conference, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said integrating Finland into Nato's command structure has been going on "since last summer".
He added that Finland will bring "well-trained, well-equipped" troops and a large reserve force to the alliance.
Mr Stoltenberg also encouraged member states to spend 2% of GDP on defence as a "floor not a ceiling".
What about Sweden?
In a statement after the vote, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said he wanted to thank all 30 Nato member states who had ratified Finland's membership.
"I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support," he said. "Finland will be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the alliance.
"We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible," President Niinistö added.
Sweden, which applied to join Nato last May, is still being blocked from joining by Turkey due to similar complaints as Finland faced, from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Sweden and Finland previously followed a policy of neutrality and non-alignment with Nato.
This sentiment changed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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