Finland cleared its final hurdle to joining NATO, bringing a geopolitical nightmare for Putin close to reality
Business InsiderMar 31, 2023
Finland formally joined NATO Tuesday as its flag was hoisted alongside those of the alliance's 30 other members, with the country's accession ending seven decades of military non-alignment as its neighbor Russia remains in conflict with Ukraine.
NATO Sec. General Stoltenberg called the move “historic” as Finland shares an 810-mile border with Russia. Moscow has pledged to bolster its border security as adversarial NATO’s frontier with Russia has doubled.
Finland’s accession to NATO is a huge affront to Putin as Moscow’s geopolitical calculations worsen. The Atlantic Alliance has now doubled its border with Russia, despite the Kremlin's previous threats against Nordic countries for attempting to join NATO. Putin's war on Ukraine has brought the exact opposite of what he hoped for.
While Russia is certainly not thrilled about Finland joining NATO, the Kremlin is not overly concerned. Moscow will do what it must to reinforce its military capabilities on its western and northwestern borders, but Russia does not pose a threat to Finland or Sweden. This is more of a non-event than Western governments would like to convey.
There's a 70% chance that Sweden will join NATO before 2024, according to the Metaculus Prediction Community.