<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def connect(self):
 """ Connects the client to the server and returns it. """

        key = paramiko.RSAKey(data=base64.b64decode(
            app.config['SSH_HOST_KEY']
        ))
        client = paramiko.SSHClient()
        client.get_host_keys().add(
            app.config['SSH_HOST'],
            'ssh-rsa',
            key
        )
        client.connect(
            app.config['SSH_HOST'],
            username=app.config['SSH_USER'],
            password=app.config['SSH_PASSWORD'],
        )
        return client