21 August 2024, Wednesday, 17:52 770

Finland wants to deploy NATO troops on its territory - Defense Minister

Editor: Daria Zubkova

Читати українською

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Finland is negotiating with several different NATO countries regarding the arrival of NATO troops for the country's security. A decision on this will be made in the fall, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said.

His words are quoted by the Finnish publication Yle on Wednesday, August 21.

Häkkänen noted that, in addition to Scandinavian countries, other countries are also involved in the negotiations. According to him, Finland's goal is that troops from different countries can come to Finland in crisis situations, but such situations do not mean a real military confrontation. Consultations are currently underway on which countries can send forces to Finland's security.

"This will mean situations where there is actually no military situation, but there is such a tense atmosphere, that is, an Article 5 situation. In practice, a "tense atmosphere at the border" can lead, for example, to a situation where additional large-scale exercises will be launched together with allies. Land NATO forces arriving in Finland will not be in Finland permanently, but will commit to training and, if necessary, a more permanent presence," Häkkänen said.

The Minister of Defense emphasized that the number of foreign ground forces should be "large enough" to act freely even in crisis situations.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on July 15, an amendment to the law on military conscription, adopted by the country's authorities against the background of the threat from the aggressor country of russia, entered into force in Finland today.

On May 29, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Elina Valtonen, said that Ukraine could attack russia with weapons provided by Finland.

It will be recalled that in March of this year, the Security Police of Finland declared that russia poses the greatest threat to the country.