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Russia to Boost Military Capabilities in Response to Finland Joining NATO on April 4

NATO flag - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.04.2023
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Finland will officially become a NATO member on April 4, the office of Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday.
Russia will boost its military potential in the western and north-western direction in response to Finland joining NATO on April 4, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik.
According to the minister, Russia will take additional measures to ensure military security in the event of deployment of forces and assets of other NATO members in Finland.
Earlier, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto announced that the country will join NATO on April 4.
"Finland will become a Member of NATO on Tuesday, 4 April 2023. President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinisto will travel to Brussels and attend an accession ceremony at NATO Headquarters," the statement said.
"Finland will deposit its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Brussels on Tuesday, 4 April, before the start of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The deposit will be made by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The flag-raising ceremony marking Finland’s accession to NATO will be held at NATO Headquarters after the deposit," the statement added.
Niinisto and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will deliver a speech at the event.
Earlier, Stoltenberg confirmed that Finland will officially join NATO on April 4, and the country's flag will be raised at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
"This is a historic week. Tomorrow, we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO," Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a ministerial meeting in Brussels, adding that the alliance "will raise the Finish flag for the first time ... at the headquarters."
Finland and Sweden applied to become NATO members in May 2022, abandoning decades of neutrality, three months after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine.
Turkiye and Hungary have been delaying the ratification process but softened their stance on Finland's accession in March.
Finnish soldiers, “Saber Strike 2015” - Sputnik International, 1920, 23.03.2023
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Ankara initially blocked Sweden and Finland's bids due to concerns over Helsinki and Stockholm's long-standing support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Turkiye views as a terrorist group and a grave national security threat. Following the Madrid-hosted meeting in June 2022 between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two Nordic leaders, Ankara dropped its objections. A security memorandum was penned to unblock Finland and Sweden's bid to enter NATO. However, the process again ground to a standstill for Sweden in January in the wake of the Quran-burning incidents at the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Russian officials have repeatedly warned that the expansion of the Western alliance closer to Russia wouldn't make the region more stable or secure.
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