Romania's president Klaus Iohannis and prime minister Nicolae Ciuca congratulated Finland on becoming the newest member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In addition, foreign affairs minister Bogdan Aurescu also welcomed Finland "to the strongest political-military Alliance in history."

In a post on Twitter, president Iohannis said: "Romania congratulates Finland on becoming the 31st NATO Ally today! In the face of unprecedented challenges in our region, our unity & solidarity will always prevail. Our Alliance is stronger now!"

Romania 🇷🇴 congratulates Finland 🇫🇮 on becoming the 3️⃣1️⃣st @NATO Ally today! In the face of unprecedented challenges in our region, our unity & solidarity will always prevail. Our Alliance is stronger now! @niinisto #WeAreNATO

— Klaus Iohannis (@KlausIohannis) April 4, 2023

In his turn, prime minister Ciuca congratulated "our Finnish friends" and wished them success.

"Countries' sovereign right to choose their security commitments makes them safer and strengthens the Alliance. After last year's historic decision to invite Finland and Sweden to become NATO states, we saw the fastest ratification process in the Alliance's modern history, and Romania was among the first countries to open their way to membership," Nicolae Ciuca said, quoted in a Facebook post of the Government.

He added: "We look forward to welcoming Sweden as a full member as soon as possible!"

Meanwhile, foreign affairs minister Aurescu, who participated in the official flag-raising ceremony marking Finland's accession to NATO, also welcomed the Alliance's newest member.

"Finland is stronger and safer in NATO, and NATO is safer and stronger with Finland as an Ally. Strengthening our Alliance is all the more relevant at this time when Europe and the Euro-Atlantic area are facing the worst security crisis since World War II. Romania, as an Ally located in the south of the Eastern Flank, on the Black Sea, benefits from the strongest security guarantees in its history, which clearly shows the advantages of belonging to the Euro-Atlantic family of values," Bogdan Aurescu said.

He also noted that Romania would continue to actively support Sweden's accession to NATO.

Finland became NATO's 31st Ally on April 4. The Finnish national anthem and the NATO hymn were played as Finland's flag was raised outside NATO Headquarters for the first time on Tuesday.

And, as NATO's new member adds some 1,300 kilometres to the Alliance's frontier with Russia, Kremlin also reacted to the news. According to Euronews, Russia warned it would be forced to take "retaliatory measures" to address what it called security threats created by Finland's accession to NATO.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Ministerul Afacerilor Externe)