“Finland’s example shows that if a country is responsibly ready, the NATO accession process can be very fast. The Finish story serves as a message and motivation for other aspirants,” said the head of Czech diplomacy, Jan Lipavský. On the day of accession (Tuesday, March 4^th), the documents of Finland were deposited into the US State Department depository, which completed the accession process into NATO. To celebrate the welcoming of Finland into the Alliance, there was a ceremony before the actual discussions where the Finish flag was raised in front of the NATO building.

The NATO ministers of foreign affairs meeting continued with the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting, which Ukrainian Minister Kuleba joined. The ministers discussed how to address threats on the Alliance’s southern flank, specifically in the Sahel area and the need to deepen cooperation with partners in the region. Allies further covered their approach to China, more concretely focusing on Chinese hybrid operations and efforts to revise the international rule-based order. The Swedish Minster of Foreign Affairs also joined all the meetings as a representative of a country invited to join NATO. For the final block, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and the High Representative of the EU, Joseph Borrell, were welcomed to join.

Minister Lipavský supported continuing support for Ukraine until territorial integrity is completely restored to Ukraine in its internationally recognized borders. “The absolute key is to strenghten NATO and EU cooperation in order to support Ukraine in its defense against the Russian aggression and facing Chinese expansion,” added Minister Lipavský. He emphasized the need to quickly supply aid to avoid a long war of attrition. The Minister further highlighted the critical importance of strategic unity between NATO and the EU to successfully face the security threats in the Euro-Atlantic sphere. The Czech head of diplomacy also pointed out the necessity to actively address the hybrid and disinformation operations of Russia and China in countries of the Global South.