The Atlantic Alliance will count with the 31st allied state from tomorrow (Tuesday), with the completion of the formalities for Finland’s accession. The Secretary General of NATO speaks of “an historic week”.
The past few days have been spent preparing for the ceremony that will take place next Tuesday. In front of the imposing glass building where the headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance operates, a platform was installed for the ceremony, which will also mark the 74th anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949.
Next to the same room, adaptation works were carried out that go almost unnoticed. But since Friday it is already possible to see a pole ready to hoist the colors of Finland, between the flags of the 30 Allies, surrounding the star of oxidized steel, the “compass rose”, which according to its architect , the Belgian , Raymond Huyberechts, intended to symbolize the old and the new continent.
“This is a historic week, we are going to raise the Finnish flag for the first time here, at NATO headquarters,” said Stoltenberg, congratulating himself on the fact that in less than a year it will be possible “to welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO, making Finland safer and our alliance stronger.”
But NATO’s secretary general says he is convinced that this will be “a good way for security, not only in Finland”, but also “for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole”.
In support of the statement, NATO’s Secretary General recalls that Finland is “the only” country in the European Union that has “never cut defense investment”. It is for this reason that NATO will be a “stronger” alliance with the new member.
“Finland will bring into the alliance substantial, well-trained, well-equipped armed forces with a large reserve army and is now also investing in new advanced fifth-generation modern F35 aircraft. [são] over 60,” he said.
“This is also good for Sweden,” Stoltenberg said, believing that Finland’s accession “makes Sweden even more integrated into NATO and makes Sweden even more secure, with Finland as a close neighbor and a member [da NATO]”.
This Tuesday’s ceremony ultimately frustrates the expectation that the two countries that formalized their candidacy less than a year ago, on May 18, 2022, could join at the same time.
However, the disagreements with Ankara over the extradition of Kurdish members suspected of terrorism in Turkey and who are in exile in Sweden posed obstacles to completing the formalities, which had already received political approval from all members, at the Madrid Summit in the summer of 2022.
A source close to the talks, heard in Brussels by the DN, acknowledges that the process creates frictions “difficult to resolve”, recalling the “important” role of the YPG, armed members close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). in the fight against the Islamic State (DAESH) in Syria.
As is known, the PKK is a banned party in Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization, including by the European Union, due to attacks on Turkish soil. On the other hand, “YPG has helped in the fight against ISIS, the organization that has carried out terrorist attacks on European soil,” the same source stressed, admitting that the file is difficult to manage, although he believes that “it will be dissolved”.
NATO Secretary General admits “Ankara’s security concerns” are “justified” but hopes the dispute will be resolved as soon as possible before a new member joins the alliance, admitting that this could take place before the Vilnius summit, which is scheduled for July.
Source: DN
