US President Joe Biden welcomed Finland’s formal accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) becoming its 31st member.
“Today, I am proud to welcome Finland as NATO’s 31st Ally,” Biden said in a White House statement.
“Seventy-four years ago today as the United States and 11 other nations came together to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization President Truman said, ‘if there is anything inevitable in the future, it is the will of the people of the world for freedom and for peace.” “Today, that will is stronger than ever with the addition of Finland to NATO,” he added.
“In May 2022, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership. Both countries are strong democracies with highly capable militaries, who share our values and vision for the world. Less than a year later, we are welcoming Finland as a member the fastest ratification process in NATO’s modern history. I look forward to welcoming Sweden as a NATO member as soon as possible, and encourage Turkiye and Hungary to conclude their ratification processes without delay,” he said.
“Today, we are more united than ever. And together strengthened by our newest Ally Finland we will continue to preserve transatlantic security, defend every inch of NATO territory, and meet any and all challenges we face,” President Biden concluded.
Finland became a NATO member after depositing its instrument of accession to the alliance.
Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto completed the accession process by handing the accession document to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
“With receipt of this Instrument of Accession, we can now declare that Finland is the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty,” Blinken said, describing Finland’s accession as a historic day for the alliance. (QNA)
Source: Qatar News Agency