Helsinki 11.5.2022
Finlands President Niinistö and Britains Prime minister today signed a treaty on
bilateral security.
United Kingdom – Finland statement
The Republic of Finland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
reiterate our shared desire for ever deeper defence and security cooperation that
is fit for any circumstances.
We are committed to defending the principles of the European security order.
In light of the deterioration of the security situation in Europe, we wish to further
intensify our security and defence cooperation and strengthen our mutual solidarity.
We will build on our current, established cooperation and work together to further
develop our capabilities.
We condemn the ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine and call on the Russian
Federation to immediately cease hostilities, withdraw its troops from Ukraine and
seriously engage in peace negotiations.
We have been increasing support for Ukraine, including deliveries of lethal material,
and are committed to helping the Ukrainians in rebuilding their country when
Russia´s military offensive ends.
Finland welcomes the United Kingdom´s strong commitment to the security of the
Baltic Sea region, including British troops in Estonia as a part of NATO´s presence
and the United Kingdom led Joint Expeditionary Force, of which Finland is a
committed member.
The United Kingdom is unwavering in its commitment to NATO´s ‘open door’ policy.
The United Kingdom welcomes Finland’s role in providing security in the Baltic Sea
region, in Northern Europe and beyond. The United Kingdom firmly believes that,
should Finland decide to apply for NATO membership, it would contribute to the
security of the whole North Atlantic area. Finland and the United Kingdom share
common security interests and the United Kingdom stands ready to assist Finland
in its endeavours by all means necessary.
We confirmed that, should either country suffer a disaster or an attack, the
United Kingdom and Finland will, upon request from the affected country, a
ssist each other in a variety of ways, which may include military means.
This cooperation will remain fully in line with each country’s security and
defence policy and is designed to complement not replace existing European
and Euro-Atlantic cooperation.
The United Kingdom and Finland will intensify and deepen their cooperation,
including in countering hybrid threats and influence activities. Information
sharing, including intelligence cooperation, has an important role to play in
countering hybrid threats and protecting critical infrastructure. Both countries
will work together on shared situation awareness, enhancing data protection
and countering cyber threats.
We will maintain regular bilateral consultations on foreign and security policy
issues, which serve an important role in deepening the partnership between
the United Kingdom and Finland.
The long-standing and strong British-Finnish defence relationship contributes
to stability and security in Northern Europe. Bilateral defence cooperation
between the United Kingdom and Finland builds on the Framework Arrangement,
signed in 2016. We will update this in order to further deepen and strengthen
our cooperation and take into account changes in the security environment.
This document is a political declaration and not a legally binding commitment under international law.
24.2.2022
President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin
held a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, 24 February 2022.
Following the President and the Prime Minister, the press conference continued with
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen.
In his opening remarks, the President stated that Finland is demanding an immediate
end to hostilities:
“Despite the advance warnings, this morning has been a shock to us all and we feel
deeply for the people of Ukraine. In Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and elsewhere, innocent
people are now experiencing the horrors of war. Russia has massively expanded hostilities
in Ukraine and now the mask has come off. Only the cold face of war is visible.
Finland strongly condemns Russia’s actions and warfare, and demands an immediate end
to hostilities.
Here, dialogue did not work, despite long and relentless negotiations on many levels.
The position of the UN Security Council last week, where Russia remained isolated,
did not work either. Now we are on a different path. The UN Security Council will
surely meet today, and the entire international community has condemned Russia’s
actions. The United States and the European Union will today discuss additional
sanctions, that is a different path’s response.
We, here in Finland, are keeping in close contact with all our partners. I myself just
spoke this morning with the Prime Minister of Sweden. It is understandable that many
Finns are now feeling afraid. I emphasise that there is no current threat against Finland.
But this surely will have, and has already had, an effect.
We are always carefully prepared for different scenarios, though we have made no big
issue of this, but I would like to end this short address by assuring that we are on top
of the situation and will remain so.”
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The way that any nation should look at themselves in order to function better
and more efficient! In times when political party pre - election attitudes
continue to disrupt national interests.
of the nation he reminded MPs that during the past decade, the government has
changed several times and that the "old normal" was for government policy to
last four years.
“just the policy of this or that minister”.
for thought also for others, besides myself.
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