Summary:
Turun Sanomat has reported that President of Finland Sauli Niinistö will take part in the European presidents’ meeting of the Arraiolos Group in Latvia on 13–14 September 2018.

The two-day event is hosted by Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis and is held in the Rundāle Palace and Riga Castle.

Presidents of 13 EU countries are participating in the meeting. The program also includes bilateral meetings.

Media:  Turun Sanomat
Date: 7.9.2018
Journalist: Matti Matikainen
Main source:

Summary:
Ilta-Sanomat writes in a comment that cracks in transatlantic relations inevitably change Europe’s security situation. This is why Finland must stay alert when it comes to the European Union’s defence projects.

Presidents Trump and Putin have room for powerful manoeuvres as the EU is in internal disarray and has lost its voice in world politics. In this sense, it is positive that the EU is becoming more active in defence.

When President Niinistö used to speak of EU defence as an alternative to NATO, many people laughed. Now it is not laughable anymore – EU defence may be the only alternative.

Media:  Ilta-Sanomat
Date: 9.7.2018
Journalist: Timo Paunonen
Main source: n/a

Summary:
According to President Sauli Niinistö, the dinner of the NATO leaders was a much happier affair than the horror scenarios had been suggesting. Mr Niinistö said he was quite optimistic about the prospects. There was no talk of NATO dissolving, and the discussion actually suggested the opposite.

Mr Niinistö said that President Donald Trump spoke extensively about the relations with North Korea, and otherwise followed the debate closely. Mr Trump did not mention Russia. He also did not tell NATO partners about his expectations regarding his upcoming summit with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, since no one asked him, Mr Niinistö said.

He stressed that this was not a preparatory meeting for the Helsinki summit, but confirmed that he had briefly talked with Mr Trump about Finland. Mr Trump’s relationship with Russia has remained a mystery, which is why a lot of expectations have been put on the meeting with Mr Putin.

Russia was one of the three themes discussed at the summit. NATO’s attitude towards Russia has been on two tracks in recent years: dialogue had been maintained, but also fears. According to Niinistö, the debate oriented in this direction.

Media:  Turun Sanomat
Date: 12.7.2018
Journalist: Anniina Luotonen
Main source:

Summary:
President Sauli Niinistö talked about the NATO summit that began Wednesday. He said the atmosphere at the start of the summit was encouraging.

A common communique has been adopted, which was the purpose of the first meeting. It was unanimously accepted in its original form, including the 4 x 30 principle, Iraqi education, and the important principle for Finland to keep the doors of NATO open. All these have been confirmed, President Niinistö told Finnish journalists in Brussels.

He noted that « kind transatlantic words » have been exchanged.

When asked about what parts in the summit communiqué were most relevant to Finland, he noted the enlargement of the defence. He thinks it is quite important that the open doors principle was clearly confirmed.

The debate on the level of defense budget apparently avoided significantly higher percentages of NATO’s present 2% GDP target. Mr Niinistö did not want to dramatize the situation and reminded that various figures had been suggested in the past too.

The consensus among the heads of Ssate and NATO on the key lines of the defense cooperation was not clear in all cases. The insecurity was particularly influenced by the dissatisfaction expressed by President Donald Trump with the economic burden sharing of the NATO members.

President Niinistö had bilateral discussions with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and was present at the dinner of the Nato leaders. He also attended the meeting discussing the Afghanistan Resolute Support.

Helsingin Sanomat reports that, according to President Niinistö, NATO sent a united message to Russia from the summit.

Mr Niinistö said that Finland and NATO have a well-developed partnership that they will further develop. Also, Finnish government has reached the position that the country is open to the possibility of applying for NATO membership. He thought that these two facts already added up to quite a lot.

Mr Niinistö said he not support the idea of Finland’s NATO membership « at the moment ». The reason is not in NATO. Finland must very carefully deliberate and strive to maximize the stability in the Baltic region, he justified his position.

Media:  Helsingin Sanomat, Verkkouutiset.fi
Date: 12.7.2018
Journalist: Heikki Hakala
Main source:

Summary:
Ilta-Sanomat has interviewed President Sauli Niinistö on the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin in Helsinki. Mr Niinistö said the United States and Russia must have a dialogue, but they cannot make decisions concerning Europe between the two of them and without Europe.

There is an increased risk of this happening, as the European Union is not united and strong enough in international politics, he assessed. He says it is necessary and inevitable that the Presidents meet, and hopefully the meeting will ease tensions in the world.

The spirit of the upcoming NATO summit will reveal how the transatlantic relationship between Europe and the United States works in practice. According to Niinistö, the transatlantic relationship is important to Europe, not just the NATO countries.

Working on transatlantic relations is also important for Finland. The Finnish security policy is based on independent defence, but Finland is practicing with NATO and with the United States in bilateral terms. Any cracks in NATO will inevitably also be reflected in North Europe and the Baltic region.

In Europe, the construction of the EU’s own defense system is underway. France is establishing an intervention team, which many EU countries have already joined.

Mr Niinistö noted the ongoing defence cooperation debate in Europe, and said that he had started the same debate in Finland 15 years ago, mainly on his own. In France, it has been discussed for decades.

Mr Niinistö was pleased that the EU has become more active in defence issues. The security debate was silent a few years ago. It did not interest the EU because it was easy to say that NATO is taking care of the security.

Yle has emphasized that Mr Niinistö thought that the EU was at this stage not sufficiently strong and united in international politics. This increased the risk that Russia and the United States may try to agree on European issues in bilateral negotiations.

« The US and Russia must hold a bilateral debate, but they cannot intervene in European affairs without Europe. This risk may arise because the EU is not coherent and strong enough a player in international politics, » said Mr Niinistö.

Media:  Ilta-Sanomat, YLE Uutiset
Date: 7.7.2018
Journalist: Timo Paunonen
Main source: President Sauli Niinistö

Summary:
President Sauli Niinistö will attend the NATO summit in Brussels next week. Mr Niinistö has been invited to a working dinner on Wednesday and a meeting discussing the Afghanistan crisis management operation on Thursday.

In addition to the NATO member countries, the dinner includes Finland, Sweden and the EU. In 2014, Finland and Sweden received an invitation to expanded partnership with NATO.

President Niinistö has been at NATO Summits on a regular basis. He also attended the meeting in Warsaw in 2016, in Wales in 2014 and in Chicago in 2012.

Turun Sanomat reports that Teija Tiilikainen, Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs said to Lännen Media that President Sauli Niinistö may receive more attention at the NATO Summit due to the upcoming summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. President Niinistö may be inquired about any information he may have about the topics that could be discussed at the Helsinki summit.

The only information that has emerged about the upcoming summit is that Russia does not want to discuss the situation in Crimea. Last week, Presídent Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton was in Moscow for preparatory meeting of presidents.

Media:  Savon Sanomat, Turun Sanomat
Date: 3.7.2018
Journalist: STT
Main source:

Summary:
An official United States airplane landed at Turku Airport on Tuesday, prompting speculation that US President Donald Trump might visit Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s summer residence in Naantali, ahead of the summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday 16 July.

A similar aircraft was spotted at Helsinki Airport on Sunday, but no officials agreed to give a statement on this. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs stated that « flights are coming and going ». According to the information for the media, « the Ministry has no opportunities to track air traffic ».

Media:  Iltalehti
Date: 3.7.2018
Journalist: Samuli Salminen
Main source:

Summary:
The meeting of Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in July 16 has necessitated fast preparations by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, states Kaleva.

Minister for Foreign Affairss Timo Soini said the task was quite difficult to pull off in a couple of weeks, but that the arrangements had started right away. Mr Soini is confident that the Ministry’s office will do what needs to be done. He said that no temporary external aid will be hired.

The summit will bring the world’s attention to Finland. Thousand of of guests are expected. Mr Soini decline to comment on the figure.

A large number of journalists will be present as well. There has been speculation that thousands may attend. Mr Soini said that « the whole world’s media » will be present at the summit. He sees the summit as a fine acknowledgment of Finland and its reliability.

The exact location of the summit has still not been confirmed, but the options include the Königstedt Manor in Vantaa and the Finlandia Hall. Mr Soini did not confirm the planned location for the summit, but noted that Helsinki had been stated as the location in official newsletters.

Media:  Kaleva
Date: 29.6.2018
Journalist: Anita Simola
Main source: