Iltalehti: a US Air Force base will be located in Finnish Lapland
Negotiations between Finland and the United States on a bilateral defense cooperation agreement (DCA) are progressing successfully, Iltalehti reports. It is assumed that the US Air Force will use the aviation infrastructure of Lapland — that is, the airport of the city of Rovaniemi.
On September 7, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto confirmed at an event of the Association of Political Journalists that US military forces will be present in Finland. "We talk a lot about the need for NATO units to enter Finland or the need for NATO presence in the country. The DCA agreement will lead, at least, to a certain US presence on the territory of Finland," Sauli Niinisto said.
The Iltalehti newspaper has already reported earlier that it is planned to deploy US weapons on the territory of Finland. Separate territories will be allocated for the deployment of American bases.
Subordinate to Norfolk
The United States is preparing bilateral agreements on defense cooperation with Finland, Sweden and Denmark. An agreement on cooperation between the USA and Norway has already been prepared. "We have a good situation in that Denmark and Sweden are negotiating a similar type of agreement. We maintain a dialogue with them," says Niinisto.
Sources in the field of foreign policy and security policy told Iltalehti that at the diplomatic level, Finland is striving to achieve the inclusion of Finland in the subordination of the headquarters in Norfolk. Norfolk is located on the east coast of the United States and is the largest naval base in the world, but currently has no ground forces.
Now Finland is subordinate to the headquarters in Brunssum, but the Finnish leadership wants to change this. Brunssum is located in the Netherlands. Finland wants all the countries of Northern Europe to be subordinate to the command of Norfolk. The main reason is the desire to strengthen Finland's relations with the United States.
Territories for American bases
As a result of bilateral agreements on defense cooperation in the Nordic countries, American bases will appear in Finland. American troops will be present on a rotational basis or permanently.
According to Iltalehti, the US Air Force will begin using the aviation infrastructure of Lapland — that is, Rovaniemi Airport. Later, the first F-35 fighters belonging to the Finnish Air Force will also be deployed in Lapland.
On July 13, 2023, US President Joe Biden uttered words in the presidential palace that will go down in the political history of Finland. "I want the Finns to know that the United States is committed to Finland and NATO. Our commitment is firm. We defend every inch of NATO territory, of course, including the territory of Finland," Biden stressed during his visit to Helsinki.
Finland has provided itself with maximum security
On September 7, Iltalehi asked Sauli Niinisto how the president assesses Joe Biden's historic statement — a couple of months after it was made in Helsinki. "Of course, this causes a positive feeling that we have provided ourselves with maximum security. This does not mean that the safety indicators are simply incredible, but they are still as high as possible in practice and in theory at the moment," Niinisto commented.
Sauli Niinisto says he has heard the same words from Biden behind closed doors. "I've talked to him countless times in meetings, on the phone, and via video. Yes, of course, his statements all this time sounded very convincing."
The words of the US President during his visit to Finland made Niinisto very happy. "Of course it's wonderful."
Mutual commitments are important
Niinisto stresses that Finland should support the United States in response. "In my opinion, reciprocity is necessary in this matter," the President of Finland commented on Biden's words.
European NATO countries should be equipped with weapons and should be ready to transfer their troops to the NATO reserve forces so that Americans understand the degree of involvement of Europeans.
Sauli Niinisto considers it somewhat problematic that Finland, with a population of 5.5 million people, is considered one of the strongest states in Europe militarily. But, of course, it will help strengthen the bilateral defense relations between Finland and the United States.
The country's parliament approves a bilateral agreement on defense cooperation between Finland and the United States.
Author: Lauri Nurmi
