Diplomatic hits and misses of 2023

NATO expansion sparks security concern

Finland officially became the 31st member of the NATO in April after winning approval from all member states. After the Russia-Ukraine conflict started in February 2022, Sweden and Finland submitted applications to join NATO in May 2022.

The NATO-Ukraine Council held its first meeting at the foreign ministers' level in November. According to the council, NATO and Ukraine are already working on a broad range of issues, including interoperability, energy security, innovation, cyber defense, and resilience.

Analysts caution that NATO's expansion and its responses to the Russia-Ukraine conflict could potentially jeopardize global security by triggering significant socioeconomic and political transformations.