Finnish flag hoisted before NATO HQ in Brussels

The flag of Finland has been hoisted before the NATO headquarters in Brussels as the country officially joined the Alliance earlier today. The country’s president Sauli Niinistö took part in the ceremony, a newsperson for Novaya-Europe reports.

“I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full-fledged member of our Alliance and I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as soon as possible. Joining NATO is good for Finland, it is good for Nordic security and it is good for NATO as a whole”,

said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto deposited Finland’s instrument of accession with the US government, represented by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Stoltenberg then greeted Finland’s president. NATO Secretary General thanked Niinistö for his “outstanding leadership”.

The Secretary General also noted that Finland’s accession shows the world that President Putin failed to “slam NATO’s door shut.” “Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite; more NATO and our door remains firmly open,” he said.

“Finland is safer and NATO is stronger with Finland as an ally. Your forces are substantial and highly capable, your resilience is second to none and for many years troops from Finland and NATO countries have worked side-by-side as partners. From today, we stand together as allies," he added.

The ceremony was also attended by Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen, representatives of Sweden, and foreign ministers from all countries of the Alliance.

Pekka Haavisto, the Foreign Minister of Finland, signed the document that joined his country to NATO earlier today. The respective decree was tweeted by Sauli Niinistö.

Also, Finnish TV channel Yle reported that the websites of the Finnish Parliament and the Technical Research Centre (VTT) were subjected to cyber attacks today. The Russian hacker group NoName 057(16) claimed responsibility for the attacks. “We are sending Finland to NATO, accompanied by a cyber attack,” the hackers wrote.

Turkey’s president Recep Erdoğan approved the Turkish parliament’s decision on ratifying Finland’s NATO membership bid in late March. Turkey was the last member of the alliance to do so.