April 16, 2023 written by Ash Breedlove
Finland officially joined NATO on April 4, 2023. NATO Allies previously signed Finland’s Accession Protocol back in July of 2022. NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Finland to the alliance, touting its joining as important to both Nordic security and the alliance as a whole. Finland is the 31st member of NATO.
On April 15th, Finland broke ground on a new Russian border fence. This fence, meant to lessen illegal migration from Russia, is near the town of Imatra in southwest Finland. As of yesterday, 1.8 miles of fence has been completed. As a newly inducted member of NATO, Finland is working towards shaking off Russian influence. Back in 2015-2016, Russia sent large numbers of asylum-seekers to northern crossing points in Finland. These asylum-seekers, mainly from Middle East nations, were sent by Moscow in order to influence Finland. Finland and Russia came to a settlement; however, this new fence will help prevent such an issue from repeating.
The Patterson Journal of International Affairs 
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