Mon 03 Apr 2023:
Finland will formally join NATO on Tuesday, and the country’s flag will be raised at the alliance’s headquarters, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Stoltenberg said the bloc was looking forward to a “historic week” and stated that Finland will be a “full-fledged member of the alliance as of tomorrow.”
He further said that NATO would “raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at NATO headquarters” at an official ceremony.
Asked about Sweden’s membership bid which was submitted at the same time as Finland, Stoltenberg said that “the time has come to ratify” the country’s accession protocol and “to finalize the accession process.”
NATO foreign ministers will meet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a reunion of the NATO-Ukraine Commission on Tuesday, Stoltenberg said.
After the war, NATO must “put in place arrangements so that Ukraine can deter future aggression and history does not repeat itself,” he added.
NATO foreign ministers will also start preparations for the leaders’ summit in July in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“I expect allies to agree on ambitious new defense investment pledge with 2% of GDP for defense as a floor and not a ceiling,” Stoltenberg said.
The challenges of “instability, terrorism, and the growing influence of Iran, Russia, and China,” he emphasized, must be addressed by NATO.
NATO foreign ministers will meet with their counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand on the second day of the meeting.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
