Brussels, 4 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Finland is to join NATO on Tuesday, expanding the defence alliance to 31 members after overcoming opposition from Turkey.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would mark the accession with a flag raising ceremony in a "good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole."

NATO foreign ministers will gather in Brussels for two days of meetings at the alliance's headquarters to discuss the Ukraine war. The meeting coincides with the 74th anniversary of the alliance's formation.

Finland applied for NATO membership alongside Sweden in May 2022 in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its application got tangled up in Ankara's opposition to Sweden's entry.

Sweden's application for membership remains blocked by Turkey due to a number of sticking points, among them Ankara's concerns over what it says is a lack of cooperation in fighting terrorism.

All NATO members must unanimously agree to admit new members. After months of talks brokered by the alliance, Turkey eventually relented and voted to admit Finland into NATO last week but has not yet held a vote on Sweden.

The accession ceremony for Finland on Tuesday will be followed by a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, a high-level forum for ministers of the alliance to discuss cooperation with Kiev. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is to take part.

The NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting is taking place over objections from Hungary. Budapest has accused Ukraine of failing to respect the Hungarian language rights of the country's Transcarpathian ethnic minority.

Hungary, like Turkey, has also not yet ratified Sweden's NATO membership. In a government statement, Hungary cited "an ample amount of grievances" with Sweden over EU budget funds, among other things.