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Helsinki comments on whether it would host NATO bases or nukes

According to the prime minister, nuclear weapons in Finland are prohibited by law

Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland said her nation’s expected accession to NATO does not involve an obligation to host NATO military bases or nuclear weapons. On Wednesday, during a work visit to Rome, Sanna Marin of Finland said neither option is being considered.

Marin was asked daily by Corriere della Sera whether Finland will not allow permanent NATO bases to be deployed on its soil. This week, Sweden and Finland both applied to join NATO.

Last week, the ruling Swedish Democratic Party stated that it supports NATO membership but would not agree to deployment of nuclear weapons or bases abroad. Finland, the Italian newspaper observed, didn’t make a similar clear commitment and asked Marin to comment.

“Nobody is forcing nuclear weapons or bases on us if we don’t want them,”She said that Finland would make the final decision in each case.

“We have a law in Finland that forbids the deployment of nuclear weapons on our territory. So, I suppose this issue is not on the table,”Elle added. “There is no interest to deploy nuclear weapons or open bases in Finland.”

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File photo: A NATO flag flies above a military exercise in Poland, June 18, 2015
Un autre NATO leader opposes Sweden and Finland

The Finnish prime minister said her nation expected that being part of the alliance would ensure that war would not come to Finnish land and branded Russia a “big aggressive neighbor.” She added that Finland believed Russia would not retaliate against it for joining the US-led bloc.

“Our President [Sauli]Niinisto spoke with President [Vladimir] Putin and his reaction was surprisingly quite calm,”Sie said. “So we hope that there will be no action from the Russian side. But should there be any, we are well prepared to face different situations, including cyber or hybrid attacks.”

Moscow said that it would prepare to defend itself against NATO and the addition of two more members.

Finland broke its tradition of neutrality and applied to join NATO citing Russia’s attack against Ukraine. Moscow claimed that it had compromised its position as mediator. Marin claimed in the interview that it was hoping that that wouldn’t be true.

“We want to remain an honest broker, making sure that dialogue keeps going. In fact, we see applying for NATO membership as an act of peace, not of war,”Sie said.

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. French and German protocols were created to grant the regions that had broken away special status in the Ukrainian government.

In recent years, the Kremlin demands that Ukraine declares itself to be neutral so that it can join NATO. Kiev maintains that Russia’s offensive was not provoked and denies claims it planned to seize the two republics.

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