'A historic day': UK PM Rishi Sunak welcomes Finland to NATO military alliance

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday welcomed Finland's membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as a "historic day" for the military alliance, as he called on members to agree on the necessary steps to also include Sweden in the fold.

Finland’s membership expands the scope of the 30-member NATO and realigns the European security landscape at a time when the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been raging on for over a year.

The UK said it was one of the first NATO allies to ratify the bids of both Finland and Sweden to join the alliance and played a significant role in securing agreement from all NATO allies for Finland’s accession.

Finland, welcome to @NATO.

This is a historic day for you and for our alliance. It's a step that makes every one of us safer.

All NATO members now need to take the necessary steps to admit Sweden, so we stand together as one to defend freedom in Europe and across the world. https://t.co/WmxeS3O3nk

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak)

“This is a historic day for Finland and for NATO,” Sunak said.

“Their accession has made our alliance stronger and every one of us safer. All NATO members now need to take the steps necessary to admit Sweden too, so we can stand together as one alliance to defend freedom in Europe and across the world,” he said.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is in Brussels on Tuesday to attend a two-day meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, marking 74 years to the day since the treaty was signed as a means to promote peace in the aftermath of World War II.

Following the Nordic country's formal accession to NATO, the meeting saw the raising of Finland’s flag at the NATO Headquarters in Belgium, and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto took his seat at the table between Estonia and France.

“Today will go into the history books for NATO as a defensive alliance; 31 countries strong, we welcome Finland to the table,” said Cleverly.

“Russia thought its aggression would divide us. Instead, we are bound tighter together, resolute in our defence of the principles of freedom and the rule of law. Let us be clear that our door remains open. We will welcome further allies with open arms and we continue to push for Sweden’s swift accession,” he said.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it continues to urge Turkey and Hungary to provide a “clear path” for Sweden’s accession to the alliance “as swiftly as possible”.

Alongside the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Cleverly will also meet his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Peter Szijjarto, to assert this urgency.

Ukraine is at the top of the NATO allies’ agenda at the meeting in Brussels, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also invited to attend the meeting.

A just and lasting peace for Ukraine, on Ukraine’s terms, is in the interest of all NATO allies, the FCDO said.

“Allies will discuss ongoing efforts to accelerate support to Ukraine to ensure it wins against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion. We will do this in three ways: by being more proactive with our military support; by ensuring Ukraine is never left so vulnerable to attack again; and by helping to build a strong Ukraine to secure a prosperous peace,” the FCDO noted.

Meanwhile, the UK has announced 10 million pounds for NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine, which provides urgent non-lethal aid such as medical equipment, rations, fuel and counter-drone equipment as it continues to fight against continued Russian aggression.

Additionally, 2 million pounds will go to NATO’s Tailored Support Packages to help Georgia, Moldova and Bosnia & Herzegovina “defend themselves against malign Russian activity”. The UK said it has committed over 6.5 billion pounds in military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine since the start of the invasion in February last year.

Last week Ukrainian tank crews completed training on Challenger 2 tanks in the UK, following Sunak’s announcement in January that the UK would donate 14 of these tanks and accompanying munition to Ukraine.

NATO’s four Asia Pacific Partners – Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Republic of Korea – will also attend a session at the Brussels meeting to discuss tackling the challenges posed by China.  NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance now between 31 member states – 29 European and two North American – and was created in the wake of World War II by virtue of the Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949.