Biden, Niinistö deepens ties as Finland’s support for NATO grows
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WASHINGTON / HELSINKI – US President Joe Biden agreed on Friday to deepen security relations with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö, but did not give any formal guarantees to the country, nervously following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Both men also said that Finland is seeking NATO or the United States as a major non-NATO ally, which will enable closer security cooperation.
Yet during the one-and-a-half-hour White House meeting, Biden called Finland a “strong defense partner,” helping a “unified transatlantic response to hold Russia accountable.”
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Russia does not want Finland or Sweden to join NATO, and only a week ago Moscow warned them of “serious military political consequences” if they did. Niinistö has claimed that as a member of the European Union, Finland has the right to apply for NATO membership, but it has curbed talk about it in the midst of the crisis.
The Ukrainian government had said it wanted to apply for membership in a U.S.-led military alliance, and Moscow wanted the West to guarantee that Kiev would never become a member.
“Finland has clearly set out to work more closely with the United States,” Niinisto told reporters, thanking Biden for his “leadership” in “very difficult times.”
He said the United States and the Nordic countries would “launch a clear process to enhance defense and security co-operation” after Biden’s meeting, which included a call to Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Finland’s western neighbor. Andersson and Niinistö will meet in Finland on Saturday.
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The war in Ukraine has raised concerns among Russia’s other neighbors. Finland has 833 miles (1,340 kilometers) of border with Russia, and opinion polls say support for full NATO membership has grown since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to Ukraine on February 24.
“This process of security cooperation is about concrete security and defense factors, not so much about membership,” Niinistö said after the meeting with Biden. However, he added that Finland meets the criteria for joining NATO.
“The presidents pledged to launch a process that will strengthen security co-operation between the United States and Finland, in close co-operation with the other Nordic countries,” the White House said in a statement referring to NATO’s policy of welcoming new members who meet its requirements. . “The presidents also discussed the importance of NATO’s Open Door policy.”
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A deeper security relationship will emerge when Finnish Secretary of Defense Antti Kaikkonen travels to the United States next week, where he will meet with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin and visit Lockheed Martin’s premises in Texas.
Last month, Finland signed a $ 9.4 billion deal to buy dozens of F-35 Stealth military aircraft from the United States. Kaikkonen also plans to visit a U.S. air base in Florida to see the planes.
Finland, which had belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden until 1809 and was then under Russian rule until 1917, has historically sought to maintain friendly relations with Moscow.
In a small part of the oval office meeting open to journalists, Biden said his predecessor, Barack Obama, believed the world would be good if they left matters to the Nordic countries to decide.
“Well, we don’t usually start wars,” Niinistö replied.
(Reported by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Anne Kauranen in Helsinki; Editors Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
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