If a military threat considered by Finland or NATO would necessitate preventive actions, the deployment of allied troops into Finland would not be completely out of the question, General and the Chief of Defence Timo Kivinen told MTV3 on Saturday.
During its NATO bid, Finland emphasised that it remains responsible for defending its own territory. Still, Kivinen would not rule out the deployment of allied troops on the ground – if and when Finland becomes a NATO member.
”If it from that perspective would be justified having troops from allied countries in Finland, then actions would be taken,” Kivinen said but reminded that the final decision would be taken on a political level.
The chief of defence also warned that Finland should not be lulled into a false sense of security. According to him, Russia must not be militarily underestimated. The country learns from its mistakes and it continues to have arms and ammunition.
”We (Finland) are a so-called frontline country, which means that we share a border with Russia which is waging an aggressive war. Finland is not a NATO member so we should not be thinking that we live in a sanctuary,” said Kivinen.
Finland has not made a decision on donating tanks to Ukraine and Kivinen declined to speculate on the outcome of preparations for Finland’s contribution. Asked about Finland’s own defence capabilities, Kivinen confirmed that the purchase of advanced air defence missiles will be announced soon.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
