Contents tagged with Finland
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Putin: Russia will respond if Finland joins NATO
If Finland joins NATO, the Russian troops are unlikely to remain retracted at a distance of 1,500 kilometers from the border.
This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Helsinki, the Kremlin website states.
“Imagine that Finland joins NATO. This means that Finnish troops will cease to be independent, will cease to be sovereign in the full sense of this word. They will become a part of NATO's military infrastructure, which overnight will appear on the Russian …
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Finnish President says his country will apply for NATO membership if the security situation deteriorates
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö stated in his interview with Dagens Nyheter daily that Finland will apply for membership of NATO in case the security situation deteriorates. “We can’t exclude the possibility of applying for NATO membership. It would be a serious mistake because it’s a tool of national security policy and Russia knows that we have this tool,” Niinistö noted.
“We are developing our partnership and cooperation with NATO at this stage. If we see significant deterioration …
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Finnish PM: Finland's NATO membership should be determined by a referendum
Finland may apply for NATO membership, but it will require broad support from the local population, as stated by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, speaking at a party congress in the city of Seinäjoki.
"I consider it is important, that if one day we will come to this decision, a referendum will be held," Sipilä said.
"This does not mean that those who make decisions in the country are transferring their responsibilities [to the people], this means that they understand that such a big decision …
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Lavrov: Russia will react to NATO's activities in the Baltic region
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Kremlin will take certain measures in response to increased NATO activity in the Baltic region. According to Reuters, he said this at a meeting with Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini, in Moscow.
Lavrov said this on the same day as NATO’s large-scale BALTOPS 16 exercises began. These involve NATO troops landing on Finnish soil for the first time.
“We do not hide our negative attitude towards the fact that NATO is moving their …
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NATO troops arrive in Finland for the first time
NATO troops landed in Finland for the first time as part of the Alliance’s Baltic Operations (BALTOP) naval exercises, Yle reported.
The exercises began on Monday near Hanko west of Helsinki.
The aim of the training is to develop cooperation between the navies of NATO member states and partners.
British, German, and Italian soldiers are participating, as well as 200 US Marines.
BALTOPS are Baltic Sea exercises that have been held annually since 1972.
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Sweden and Finland strengthen cooperation with NATO
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, stated in an interview that Sweden and Finland, which aren’t members of NATO, attended a NATO Ministerial meeting that took place on the 20th of May, as reported by a correspondent for European Pravda in Brussels.
“Finland and Sweden – EU Member States, but not NATO Member States - will join us. It will be an important indicator of our level of cooperation,” Stoltenberg stated.
The High Representative of the …
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Finland to place an additional 160 border guards along the eastern border
The Finnish government plans to deploy 160 guards to its eastern border. This was reported by Yle.
This strengthening of border guard personnel was prompted by Finland’s first report on internal security, which was published on Thursday.
According to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Petteri Orpo, the government also intends to stop the decline in the number of police officers. Their goal is to have at least 7,000 police force members in four years’ time.
According to the Ministry, the new …
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US fighters to take part in joint Finnish-Swedish aviation exercises
On Monday, US Air Force fighters began to take part in Finnish Air Force aviation exercises. These Cross Border Training exercises will last until the 20th of May.
According to the Finnish TV and radio company, Yle, eight US fighters from Oregon arrived at the Rissala airbase on Friday. US Air Force planes had previously participated in aircraft exercises in Finland’s airspace. This will however be the first time that US fighters will depart from the Finnish airport.
The participation of the …
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US F-15s arrive in Finland for joint training flights
US F-15 fighter planes arrived at the Finnish air base Rissala on Friday where they will take part in joint training flights with Finnish fighters. They will also participate in the Finnish-Swedish exercise Cross Border Training (CBT), as reported by Yle.
It is the first time that American fighters will be based on Finnish territory. Earlier, US aircraft took part in flights within the framework of exercises in the air space of the country, but without taking off and landing from Finnish …
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Finnish President: Finland's decision to join NATO will be decided by a referendum
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, who is in favor of maintaining the present non-aligned policy, noted that the issue on the country entering NATO should be put to a national referendum.
Commenting on the report of the international expert group about the consequences of NATO entry for the country, published on Friday, he stated in an interview with Yle that Russia sees NATO as a threat, which was also outlined in the report.
“They don’t want this threat to reach their borders,” the …