Finland officially becomes the 31st member of NATO today.

“This will make Finland more secure and NATO stronger,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attending the NATO Foreign Ministers Summit.

Finland’s entry into NATO takes place on the anniversary of the signing of the Washington Treaty, April 4, 1949, Stoltenberg pointed out.

During a ceremony to be organized this afternoon, on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Brussels, the Finnish flag will be raised together with the other allied flags, in the presence of Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

Stoltenberg noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted NATO forces out of Eastern European member states and to close NATO’s doors to new members, but instead the response he is getting is “a greater NATO presence in eastern wing of the Alliance’ and the accession of Finland.

While Finland and Sweden were invited together last June to join the Alliance, the process is still ongoing for Sweden, as Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify the country’s membership.

G. Stoltenberg said he was confident that Sweden would become a member of the Alliance. He also recalled that all Allies agreed that Sweden’s accession must be completed quickly. He also emphasized that Sweden, due to the special status it received at the NATO Summit last June in Madrid, is now in a much better position.

After Finland’s accession ceremony, NATO foreign ministers will meet with their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in the framework of the NATO-Ukraine commission to discuss support for the Allies, including ways to continue strengthening the armed forces.