NATO

Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland says this organisation of 56 member nations remains effective, relevant and engaged. But what sets it apart from the others is that it is like a family, tied by shared "love" and concern for each other. Scotland spoke to IANS on the sidelines of the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank group.

"Specific decisions regarding the buildup of defence capabilities along Russia's northwestern borders will depend on the specific terms on which Finland joins NATO, including the deployment of NATO's military infrastructure and offensive weapons on its territory," said the Ministry in a statement on Tuesday.

The national flag of Finland was raised and the country's anthem was played for the first time at NATO headquarters on Tuesday afternoon in a brief ceremony. "The era of military non-alignment in our history has come to an end. A new era begins," Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said at the ceremony on Tuesday, adding that he hoped to see neighbouring Sweden join soon.

he program will be on the agenda of the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on Tuesday and Wednesday, Xinhua news agency quoted the NATO chief as saying at a press conference here."I expect that the ministers will agree to start work on the development of a multi-year program for Ukraine," Stoltenberg added.

There were 276 votes in favour on Thursday for the Nordic nation to become a part of the military alliance, reports Turkey's state-run Anadolu News Agency. The vote means that all 30 current member states of NATO have now ratified Finland's accession, a requirement for it to join the alliance.

A total of 182 MPs voted in favour and six against, while 11 lawmakers were absent, reports Xinhua news agency. Besides the far-right party Mi Hazank (Our Homeland), all parties voted in favour of Finland's accession. Elod Novak, vice president of Mi Hazank, had said last week that his party would veto Finland's accession because "expanding the military alliance on Russia's border would be a provocation, while the neutral zone is an international interest".

This act formally sealed the Nordic country's historic bid to join the military alliance. Next, Finland will submit its NATO membership-related documents to the US administration once Turkey and Hungary ratify its membership bid, Xinhua news agency reported. Last Friday, during Niinisto's visit to Turkey, he country's President.

The vote on Wednesday was 269 in favour and 37 against, reports Xinhua news agency. Forty-three lawmakers were absent and two of the eight parties represented in the country's Parliament (Riksdag) -- the Left Party and the Green Party -- voted against the motion. Hungary and Turkey remain the last two hold-outs among NATO's 30.

The visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow is seen as a boost for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is subject to an International Criminal Court warrant over accusations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. The two leaders discussed the Ukraine conflict, and Putin praised Beijing's 12-point position paper on the conflict.

Contact with the Turkish presidential administration has been frequent since last spring, Niinisto added on Wednesday, and has accelerated in recent days. The Finnish President also said he has been in contact with the Swedish Prime Minister, adding that it is very important to Finland that NATO membership both for his country and Sweden should materialise as soon as possible.