NATO Foreign Ministers will welcome Finland as the thirty-first member of the Alliance in a ceremony at NATO headquarters on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Monday.

“We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters,” he told a press conference ahead of a 2-day formal meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

“It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole,” said the NATO chief adding “all Allies agree that Sweden’s accession should be completed quickly.” Moreover, the NATO-Ukraine Commission will meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday and express their support to Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” he said.

“We do not know when this war will end. But when it does, we will need to put in place arrangements so that Ukraine can deter future aggression” said Stoltenberg.

NATO member states have delivered 65 billion euros (USD 70 billion) of military aid to Ukraine, he said, and welcomed that modern battle tanks and other armored vehicles have started to arrive in Ukraine.

NATO Foreign Ministers will also discuss threats and challenges in the South Including instability, terrorism and the growing influence of Iran, Russia and China, he stated.

On Wednesday, NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, together with the EU will join the meeting.

“The consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine are global. And what is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow” he warned.

They will discuss deepening cooperation in areas such as cyber defence, new technologies and countering disinformation and address China is growing alignment with Russia, he said.

“Any provision of lethal aid by China to Russia would be a major mistake,” he stressed.

Source: Kuwait News Agency