Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has announced that Finland has become the 31st member of the alliance, thanks to Turkey’s unanimous vote.
Despite Russia’s opposition to Finland’s membership, Turkey’s approval has allowed the extension of NATO.
Finland shares a long border of more than 1,300 kilometers with Russia, and its decision to join NATO was prompted by security concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, Sweden's application to join NATO has been rejected by Turkey and Hungary.
Finland’s membership in NATO has been a topic of discussion for many years, with some arguing that it would help to strengthen Finland’s defense capabilities, while others have expressed concerns about potential tensions with neighboring Russia.
With Finland’s membership, NATO now includes most of the countries in Europe and North America.

NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an intergovernmental military alliance established in 1949.
It was formed as a collective defense pact between North American and European countries to prevent Soviet expansion and protect member states from possible Soviet aggression during the Cold War.
The founding members of NATO were ten European countries, including the United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.