Finland officially joins Nato: As it happened

That's all for Tuesday

We're wrapping up the live blog about Finland officially joining Nato on Tuesday.

Be sure to stay tuned to Yle News for more Nato-related (and other) news in the coming days and weeks.

Niinistö: "A new era begins" as Finland joins Nato

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Following leaders signing and handing over accession paperwork, Finland officially joined Nato at a brief ceremony at the defence alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, at around 4pm, Finnish time.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö made a brief statement at the ceremony, noting that Finland was starting a new chapter in its history.

You can read more about it here.

Marin "proud of Finland and Finnish people"

Outgoing Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) tweeted that Finland is entering a new era as a member of Nato, adding that she was "proud of Finland and the Finnish people."

"As a nation, we have been united throughout this historic process. Thank you to our Allies for your trust. Together we will be even stronger," Marin wrote.

Speaking to the media in Brussels, Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen (Cen) Finland's accession is a "big day for Finland" but noted that Sweden's ratification must still be completed.

"Our next goal is of course to get full membership for our good neighbour Sweden," Kaikkonen said.

Official: Finland joins Nato as 31st member

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Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed the final formalities of Finland's accession to Nato in front of the media at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

"I'm delighted to report that just a few moments ago, Turkey deposited with me, on behalf of the United States, Turkey's ratification of the instrument for Finland's accession to Nato, and with the receipt and submission of that protocol, I can say that the protocol is now in force," Blinken said.

Stoltenberg then handed over the formal invitation, on behalf of all member states, to foreign minister Haavisto for Finland to become a member of Nato. In turn, Haavisto deposited Finland's instrument of accession with Secretary of State Blinken.

"With receipt of this instrument of accession, we can now declare that Finland is the 31st member of the North Atlantic treaty," Blinken confirmed.

After a shaking of hands between the three men, Haavisto announced Finland's first act as a Nato member.

"Since we are now a member of Nato, we have a very important task. The task is to give to you for the deposit our ratification of Swedish membership. This is our first act as a member state," Haavisto said.

Finland's membership was confirmed by an official statement from the Office of the President of the Republic.

Haavisto signs off on Nato agreement

Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) has signed the agreement on Finland's membership of Nato.

The signing ceremony took place in front of the cameras at Nato headquarters in the Manfred Wörner building in Brussels.

Haavisto described it as a historic moment. He said that Turkey was handing over its own ratification of Finland's membership to the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

This clears the last bureaucratic hurdles from Finland's path to Nato, allowing General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg to officially invite Finland to join the alliance. He is expected to do so soon.

"The moment the accession document has been handed to Foreign Minister Blinken, Finland is a member of Nato. After that, the flag will go up," Haavisto said.

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Reuters: Russia threatens "counter measures"

News agency Reuters reports that the Kremlin has issued a statement regarding Finland's impending Nato membership, saying Russia will be forced to take "counter measures" to ensure its own security.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Finland's move to finalise Nato membership an "encroachment" on Russian security, adding that the alliance was hostile towards Russia.

Reuters also reports on comments by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Šoigu that Finland's accession has increased the risk of conflict.

Added at 18:09:

In a separate statement, Russia's foreign ministry said that Nato's expansion along Russia's borders had fundamentally changed the situation in Northern Europe.

The minister said that Russia's further actions depend on what Nato's expansion means in practice, for example, in terms of military infrastructure deployment.

Stoltenberg: Finland gets "ironclad security guarantee"

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Addressing reporters outside Nato HQ in Brussels on Tuesday afternoon, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, "by becoming a member, Finland will get an ironclad security guarantee. Article 5, the collective clause of all for one and one for all, will apply to Finland from today [Tuesday]."

Article 5 states that an attack against one member state is interpreted as an attack against all.

"President Putin had as a declared goal of the invasion of Ukraine to get less Nato. He is getting exactly the opposite. Finland today, and soon also Sweden will become a full-fledged member of the alliance," he said.

Stoltenberg also noted that the alliance's founding document, the North Atlantic treaty, was signed on this day in 1949.

"It's hard to imagine any better way of celebrating our anniversary than to have Finland becoming a full member of the alliance," he said, adding that he was personally proud to see Finland join Nato.

"Not so many years ago, we thought it was unthinkable that Finland would become a member, now they are a full-fledged member, and that is truly historic."

Nato flag flies outside Finnish foreign ministry, Helsinki

The flags of Finland and Nato are flying side-by-side outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Helsinki on Tuesday.

"A day I never thought I would see," tweeted Piritta Asunmaa, head of the ministry's political unit, as she shared a photo on Twitter.

NYT: Finnish membership is "defeat for Putin"

In an article published on Tuesday morning, the New York Times writes that Finland's Nato accession "amounts to a strategic defeat for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has made blocking NATO expansion a goal of his leadership."

Finland's membership — which the NYT notes is "a power shift spurred by the Ukraine war" — is a "huge plus" for the alliance.

"Nato's border with Russia is doubling and the alliance has gained access to a strong military with a deep history of countering its bigger neighbor," the NYT notes.

The article also highlights the role played by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in his country's Nato accession, as well as the effect it had on its Nordic neighbour Sweden.

"Mr. Niinistö judged quickly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Finland's best protection was to drop its military nonalignment and apply to join Nato. His judgment was influential for a more hesitant Sweden, which has also applied to join," NYT writes.

Finland joins on Nato's 74th anniversary

The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington DC on 4 April 1949.

The first signatory states were France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.

Finland will join on the 74th anniversary of that historic signing.