Helsinki. September 7. INTERFAX - Finnish President Sauli Niinisto allows the presence of US troops on the territory of the republic on the basis of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) being prepared with the United States.
"The agreement will lead, at least, to a certain US presence in Finland," he said on Thursday at a meeting with political journalists.
Commenting on the upcoming document, he said: "What the presence will be, has not yet been agreed. It could mean training American soldiers, storing weapons or something else."
According to him, American senators and congressmen "appreciate the fact that Finland will be able, to a large extent, to maintain peace on its border with Russia independently, if necessary."
Niinisto recalled that Finland, Sweden and Denmark are currently also negotiating with the United States on the conclusion of new agreements on cooperation in the field of defense, and Norway already has a similar agreement.
He believes that Sweden needs such an agreement more than Finland, because it is not a member of NATO.
Presidents Sauli Niinisto and Joe Biden agreed to deepen defense cooperation in March 2022.
As Ambassador Mikael Antell, Finland's chief negotiator for the agreement, told Yle on August 10, the purpose of the agreement is for American soldiers to have facilities and territories at their disposal in Finland, for example, for training, storage of weapons and maintenance of equipment.
American troops will be present on a rotational basis, but Antell could not name their possible even approximate strength.
"It has not yet been agreed where American troops will be stationed during their stay in Finland. But if you want to guess, Northern Finland will be a good guess," the negotiator said.
American troops will be able to move anywhere in Finland by land, sea and air. The exercises of Finnish and American soldiers will be able to be held in different parts of Finland.
