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Finland Will Officially Join NATO on Tuesday

The country applied to join the alliance after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Finland is set to become an official member of NATO on Tuesday, the defense alliance’s head said Monday. The Nordic nation submitted an application to join NATO last year after its neighbor Russia invaded Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed Finland’s accession into the group and said the move would make Finland “safer.” “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,” he told reporters in Belgium. Tuesday will mark the first expansion of NATO since 2020, when North Macedonia joined. News of Finland joining NATO comes after incumbent Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was defeated in a national election over the weekend.