Foreign Secretary James Cleverly today hailed Finland’s membership of NATO as proof of the alliance’s success.
The Cabinet Minister was speaking as he arrived at the coalition’s Brussels headquarters for two days of crunch meetings to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Finland today becomes the 31st NATO member, having applied to join after Russia invaded Ukraine.
A flag raising and signing ceremony takes place this afternoon.
Finland shares a 832-mile border with Russia, so its entry to the alliance more than doubles the size of NATO’s border with Russia.
The move is a strategic and political blow to Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, who has long complained about the nuclear-armed alliance’s expansion toward Russia.
Mr Cleverly said: “Today we see as a direct result of Vladimir Putin’s aggression and his illegal invasion of Ukraine the day where a new ally joins our defensive alliance.
“I think that is very positive.
“We will celebrate that today and then very quickly get to work on the accession of Sweden to this group of friends and allies.”
Mr Cleverly said NATO had never been “more relevant” nor “more united”.
Stockholm’s application has been delayed by Turkey but alliance leaders hope it can be agreed in the coming weeks.
Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba to the alliance HQ.
“We all see that the war in Ukraine continues to grind on but we also see the bravery, the courage of the nation, the Ukrainian armed forces, the Ukrainian people but also the Ukrainian leaders,” he said.
“We are so impressed and we see how you have been able to push back the Russian aggression and how all the allies are stepping up their support.”
Mr Stoltenberg said allies would discuss how to boost long-term support for Kyiv.
Mr Kuleba said: “I came to NATO to speed up deliveries of what has already been pledged to Ukraine, primarily artillery ammunition, infantry armoured vehicles, armoured personnel carriers - everything that Ukraine needs for a successful counter offensive.”
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