Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday hailed a "new era" as his country, bordering Russia, joined NATO , after decades of non-alignment.

وقال نينيستو قبل أن يرفع رمزيا العلم الفنلندي أمام مقر الناتو في بروكسل "انتهى عصر عدم الانحياز العسكري في تاريخنا. لقد بدأت حقبة جديدة". 

For his part, US President Joe Biden expressed his "pride" in welcoming Finland into NATO after it officially became its thirty-first member.

Biden said in a statement: "When (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched his war on the Ukrainian people, he thought he would be able to divide Europe and NATO. He was wrong. Today, we are more united than ever," stressing that it would be " He was also pleased to welcome Sweden to the alliance as soon as possible.

While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken encouraged Turkey and Hungary "to ratify Sweden's accession protocols without delay."