Summary:
According to Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini, the European Union and NATO have shared interests in the Baltic region. From the Finnish point of view, NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence has a stabilizing effect in the Baltic Sea, Mr Soini said at the Centrum Balticum’s Baltic Sea forum in Turku. According to Minister Soini, Finland welcomes NATO’s policy of two roads, which emphasized both the deterrent effect and dialogue. He believes Finland’s partnership with NATO has developed in a positive way in the last couple of years. The so-called 29+2 cooperation between NATO, Finland and Sweden has benefited all parties. Shared military exercises give Finnish armed forces new opportunities to develop their skills and capabilities.

After the Cold War, many countries downgraded their defense capabilities. Finland did not, and some wondered why Finland stubbornly maintained such large forces. Minister Soini says that recently nobody has made such comments.

Minister Soini said that we should not forget the background of Europe’s weakened security situation. Russian aggression in Ukraine was the turning point, and the same development has taken place in Syria. Mr Soini notes that in difficult times, it is important to keep cool, stick to facts and avoid exaggeration or fearmongering.

Media:  Verkkouutiset.fi
Date: 15.5.2018
Journalist:
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Summary:
President Sauli Niinistö commented on the situation in Gaza on Monday evening after the Israeli army shot 41 protesters on the Israel-Gaza border. President Niinistö told Iltalehti that the situation is extremely serious and he is following the developments closely. He added that it is very important to refrain from all violence and use of force. The situation is delicate and the entire region is a like a powder keg.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini said the Finland is extremely concerned about the excessive use of force and the civilian casualties. Minister Soini said that Finland urges the parties to refrain from violence and to respect international justice and human rights, including the right to protest.

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä condemned the violence in Gaza. Speaking to Savon Sanomat in Kuopio on Monday, Prime Minister Sipilä said that Finland condemns the violence and that the relocation of the US embassy had triggered the situation. Prime Minister Sipilä has discussed the matter with President Niinistö and Minister Soini. Mr Sipilä will participate in the summit of EU and Western Balkan leaders in Sofia, Bulgaria on Thursday.

Helsinki University Middle-Eastern Studies professor Hannu Juusola says that the US promise to mediate the conflict between Israel and Palestinians was a « dead concept » even before the US decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. All discussion about the peace process is very vague and it seems unlikely that there will be anything that Palestinians can accept. The diplomatic process is under US control and if they do not take an active role, it is unlikely that the two parties can make progress, Juusola says. A key factor is the reaction of Hamas to Monday’s violence. Juusola says that without a political solution, the cycle of violence and conflict will repeat itself.

Media:  Iltalehti, Keskisuomalainen, Savon Sanomat, Uusi Suomi
Date: 14.5.2018
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Summary:
President Sauli Niinistö has published a blog text that discusses the uncertain situation in global politics ahead of June’s Kultaranta discussions. President Niinistö writes that during the spring he has been thinking about the situations in Ukraine, Syria and Korea, and the crises of Jemen, Sahel and Afganistan. New crises have appeared since then, including the Israel-Iran conflict and the entire transatlantic relationship. The EU is a global economic power, but otherwise uninvolved in global politics. It will be difficult for EU to impose the message of order on superpowers led by individuals such as Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

President Niinistö said that President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran treaty raises a general question about trust. Europe may have solidarity towards NATO, but it must be prepared to solve security problems without the United States.

Yle notes that according to President Niinistö, foreign and security policy has taken a step backwards. The rapid development of the digital world, artificial intelligence and economy does not compensate for the fact that words such as « ballistic missile » and « nuclear war » are becoming commonplace.

According to Verkkouutiset, the President says that the Kultaranta discussions will culminate on a single question: Strength and power, or common order?

Media:  Demokraatti, Helsingin Sanomat, Iltalehti, Ilta-Sanomat, Keskisuomalainen, Uusi Suomi, Verkkouutiset.fi, YLE Uutiset
Date: 14.5.2018
Journalist: Juha-Pekka Raeste
Main source:

Summary:
Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö was interviewed by national broadcasting company YLE’s TV programme Ykkösaamu last week. In the interview, he spoke about various topics, foreign affairs among them.

President Niinistö commented on the situation of the Koreas, saying that he hopes the positive development continues. However, he reminded that in international politics, winds can suddenly turn. He emphasised that the meeting between the leaders of the Koreas was significant, and if they start creating a peace treaty, it is also significant.

In addition, the President spoke about the war in Ukraine. According to him, it would be natural to lift the sanctions against Russia if the Minsk Treaty was implemented. It would require a solution to many difficult questions, in which progress has not really been made, the President reminded.

What comes to the gas attack in Syria, President Niinistö finds that it would be best to wait for the result of the investigation. However, the information received so far implies that the regime of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for the attack. According to President Niinistö, Russia can affect al-Assad rather much, and it would be good if Russia used its influence so as to prevent similar events.

President Niinistö explained that in the next Kultaranta talks in Finland, he plans to focus on the better functionality of international organisations. He thinks that particularly small countries need to be consistent with highlighting the respect for international order.

President Niinistö has recently discussed with both President Putin and President Trump, and tried to find out how they feel about one another, because this is a valuable piece of information to Finland, too. The main topic in his conversation with President Trump was, however, the arctic region and its environmental problems.

Both Presidents Putin and Trump understand that there are environmental problems in the arctic region, and their views on this matter are rather similar, the President said. He believes that both countries would be ready to take measures to fix these problems.

Media:  Helsingin Sanomat, Iltalehti, Savon Sanomat
Date: 28.4.2018
Journalist: –
Main source: President Sauli Niinistö

Summary:
Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini met with his Swedish colleague Margot Wallström in Stockholm on Wednesday. According to Minister Soini, they discussed the problematic world from various viewpoints for three hours.

The agenda included, among other things, the diplomatic relations between the two countries, arctic region issues, EU budget, Brexit, Syrian war, North Korea, and once again Baltic Sea security and increasing collaboration in foreign and security policy played a major role in the talks.

Defence collaboration with Sweden has quickly increased since the Ukraine crisis started in 2014.

Minister Soini also brought up Sweden’s study on legislative changes regarding receiving and giving military assistance from/to Finland, which will be handled by the country’s Parliament next autumn. Minister Soini found it very important and positive. He believes that Sweden will eventually implement the changes.

Minister Soini evaluated that Sweden and Finland are best friends at the moment. The foreign ministers have been communicating actively and they talk on the phone at least once a month.

Media:  Demokraatti, Helsingin Sanomat, Helsingin Sanomat (E-edition, PDF)
Date: 3.5.2018
Journalist: Petja Pelli / HS
Main source: Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini

Summary:
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland is still aiming at organizing an Arctic region summit. Leading Arctic cooperation expert René Söderman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the summit is still part of Finland’s Arctic Council presidency agenda. President Sauli Niinistö has been active in promoting the idea to both Russia and the United States, and the matter was mentioned during President Niinistö’s recent phone call with President Donald Trump.

Pertti Salolainen, vice-chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, says the committee has not received a report on phonecall between President Niinistö and President Trump, but he confirms that the summit is being worked on. Salolainen says that the summit would be good for Finland’s profile and that Finland, as a Western country, could promote dialogue between the East and the West.

Söderman adds that Finland is prepared to organize the summit on a tight schedule and that Finns have experience with demanding logistical arrangements.

Media:  Ilkka
Date: 25.4.2018
Journalist: Johanna Puukka
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