IRIA News

Finland, the newest member of the NATO alliance, has signed an agreement with the United States to enhance bilateral military cooperation. The representatives from the two countries met in Washington to finalize the deal on December 18, 2023, that aims to counter Russia’s long-term threat to Europe.

The defense cooperation agreement between Finland and the U.S., the newest member and largest figurehead of the NATO alliance has formalized a new era of military ties between the two countries. Washington and Helsinki have agreed to enhance military cooperation in joint training of forces and military interoperability. The agreement aligns with Finland’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance in April.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen announced the agreement last week in Helsinki. She said the deal will allow Washington to station troops and store weapons inside the Nordic country, which shares a sprawling border with Russia.

The agreement was signed during a meeting between the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Finland’s Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen. The Finnish Defense Minister hailed the agreement as a “strong sign of U.S. commitment to the defense of Finland and the whole of northern Europe.”

The alliance between Finland and the United States is closer than ever.
FM @elinavaltonen met with @SecBlinken to discuss Ukraine, the Middle East, and cooperation on defence, trade and technology.
Defense Minister @anttihakkanen signed the Defense Cooperation Agreement. 🇫🇮🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/yqPuaU41b1

— Embassy of Finland in the US 🇫🇮 (@FinlandinUSA) December 18, 2023

“We do not expect the United States to take care of the defense of Finland. We continue to invest in our defense and share the burden in our area and beyond,” Hakkanen said after meeting Blinken. “However, this agreement significantly enhances our ability to act together in all situations,” he added.

“Today NATO is bigger, it’s stronger, it is more united than at any point in its nearly 75-year history, and that’s in no small part thanks to Finland’s accession. And soon, Sweden will join as well,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said following the signing of the defense pact.

He emphasized the importance of Finland’s support to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. “Finland has been a steadfast partner to Ukraine as it defends its people, its territory, its right to shape its future, providing more than $2 billion in defense support, in humanitarian aid, and other assistance since Russia’s full-scale aggression.”

Blinken added that with the defense cooperation deal, the U.S. would play its role in booting Finland’s defense capabilities through joint military initiatives as well as providing the latest military equipment including the F-35 fighter jets.

“We now have a network of Defense Cooperation Agreements that stretches from northern to southern Europe, from the Norwegian Sea to the Black Sea – providing security and stability for people all across the continent,” he said.

Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, who was also present in Washington during the signing ceremony, said that Finland’s bilateral relations with the United States are excellent. “You are our key strategic partner and ally, but also our most significant trade partner,” she said at the news conference following the meeting. Valtonen emphasized that Finland’s “NATO membership, along with the DCA, gives us momentum to lift U.S.-Finland cooperation to the next level.”

Finland’s focus on defense

The Scandinavian country shares one of the longest borders in Europe with Russia, stretching up to 1340 kilometers. At its closest point, Finland’s border is less than 500 kilometers away from Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg.

Since becoming the 31st permanent member of the NATO alliance, Finland has been expanding its military spending and upgrading its arsenal as well as signing several defense agreements with fellow NATO member states amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and Russia’s increasing aggression toward Europe. Helsinki has become NATO’s fifth-highest military spender as a part of its GDP, falling only behind the U.S., Poland, Estonia, and the UK.

Finland has also increased the mobilization of its armed forces. The latest defense agreement would support Helsinki to bolster its defense posture and also help Washington enhance its military presence in Nordic lands. While Finland’s peacetime military force is the same size as Czechia’s, its wartime military personnel figures are larger than France’s, standing at more than 280,000.