Finland: A defense treaty with the United States would undermine our sovereignty

Finland – The Finnish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the working group chaired by Helsinki had reached the conclusion that the defense agreement with the United States would undermine the country’s sovereignty.

“Therefore, for the (Finnish) Parliament to take a decision to approve the agreement, a two-thirds majority will be required,” the ministry added.

Finland, which joined NATO, signed an agreement with the United States last December, stipulating the stationing of forces on its territory. Under the agreement, the Pentagon has access to 15 military bases, the deployment of defense equipment, supplies and equipment on Finnish territory, the entry and movement of American aircraft, ships and means of transport, and ensuring the protection of American forces, as well as the equipment and territories they use.

The agreement does not include a permanent American presence in Finland, as potential American forces will be in the country on a rotating basis.

Earlier, Finnish Foreign Minister Elena Valtonen stated that her country intends to sign a bilateral defense cooperation agreement in the coming weeks with the United States.

At the beginning of this March, the Finnish Ministry of Defense revealed that Helsinki had concluded a deal with Washington to purchase American JDEM and SDP bombs worth more than $96 million.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said, following signing the defense cooperation agreement between Washington and Helsinki, that Moscow regrets Finland’s decision to agree to the deployment of American military bases.

He stressed that this would lead to increased tension in bilateral relations, stressing that when NATO’s military infrastructure infiltrates into Finland, it will clearly pose a threat to Russia.

The Norwegian Armed Forces had announced that Finland and Sweden, as members of NATO, would participate in the “Northern Response 2024” maneuvers that took place from March 4 to 15, near the Russian border.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova indicated that the “Northern Response” military maneuvers would be fraught with escalation of tension and would not remain without a reaction from Russia.

Source: RT