Summary:
The Finnish and German Foreign Ministers Timo Soini and Heiko Maas met last week in Finland. The foreign ministers want to deepen collaboration between Finland and Germany.

They discussed issues related to the arctic region and the European Union’s security and defence policy, particularly in the Baltic Sea region, among other things. Minister Soini pointed out that the Baltic Sea is important to all of the region’s countries both from an economic and security viewpoint. « This is sometimes forgotten, when we speak about the tension in Europe, » he said. According to Mr Soini, the Baltic Sea is a European sea and the key to both EU’s and NATO’s security.

Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö has been interviewed by Radio Helsinki. He was asked whether a major war seems more possible today than five years ago.

President Niinistö said that the current situation seems incomprehensible. Last autumn, there were news about a possible attack to Baltic States by Russia, in mid-winter a war was supposed to start in Korea and now the talks have shifted to Iran and Israel.

The President finds that the phenomenon is dangerous: the world changes in a minute and along with threats. Words like ballistic missile, nuclear weapon and war are used in everyday life, President Niinistö explained. At the beginning of his first term, there was no speculation over other than regional wars.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.