Finland and the US are preparing a bilateral defense agreement.
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This was reported by the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, citing Mikael Antella, deputy head of the political department of the country’s Foreign Ministry.
This agreement provides for the deployment of American military installations, weapons and military equipment, that is, in fact, military bases, on the territory of Finland.
The United States has similar agreements with other NATO countries.
The details of the agreement have not yet been finalized, but it is already known that it will not concern nuclear weapons.
Most importantly, the agreement will ensure seamless cooperation with the United States in all situations, as well as in a short time frame, Antell said.
It does not contradict Finnish membership in NATO, but complements it.
The agreement allows troops to enter the country, stay on its territory, station and store materials, and invest in infrastructure with funds provided by the US Congress to the Pentagon, Antell said.
Finland made the decision to abandon neutrality and join the North Atlantic Alliance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Then the support of this step grew among the population from about a third to 80%.
It applied to join the North Atlantic Alliance in May 2022 and joined NATO on April 4, 2023.
At the same time, the country became an official partner of NATO back in 1994 and since then has closely cooperated with the armies of the alliance.
Source: Racurs
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