Finland has become the 31st member of the transatlantic military alliance, NATO, after its application was officially ratified by the Turkish Parliament. The Nordic country had previously maintained a neutral stance on military alliances, but the conflict in Ukraine prompted Finland and neighboring Sweden to seek NATO membership out of fear of Russian aggression. The Kremlin has warned that this move would be met with retaliatory measures. Hungary’s parliament recently endorsed Finland’s accession, while Sweden’s bid was stalled by Turkey and Hungary due to concerns over the country’s leniency towards groups deemed to be security threats. All 30 existing NATO members must fully support new member applications, with Turkey and Hungary being the final countries to ratify Finland’s accession.
