Finland became the latest country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday as its Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto handed over accession documents to United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Finland has become the 31st member of the alliance after applying for membership in May 2022.
As its first act as a NATO member, Finland submitted its ratification of Sweden's application. Sweden sought membership on the same day as Finland, but its bid has been hampered by disagreement from several NATO allies led by Turkey. Meanwhile, Russia warned that Finland's accession could lead to an "escalation of the conflict" between it and the West.
