Finland To Sign Defense Pact With U.S.

NATO's newest member, Finland, which shares a border with Russia, will sign a bilateral defense cooperation deal with the US next week that allows Washington to send troops into Helsinki to bolster its defense and store weapons and military equipment there, as reported by Mainichi Japan.

Under the deal, Finland will allow US soldiers access to 15 military areas and facilities covering the entire Nordic nation. I Photo: Lauri Heikkinen, valtioneuvoston kanslia Wikimedia Commons

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina told a news conference in Helsinki on Thursday that Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen will sign the so-called Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in Washington.

The pact, which must still be approved by Finnish lawmakers, "is very significant for Finland's defense and security," Hakkanen said, stressing that the deal is judicially binding on both sides.

"It bears a very strong message in this time. The United States is committed to our defense also in a tough spot," Hakkanen told reporters.

Finland joined NATO in April after decades of military non-alignment as a direct result of Russia's assault on Ukraine that started in February 2022.

The nation of 5.6 million shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia that makes up a significant part of NATO's northeastern flank and acts as the European Union's external border in the north.

Under the deal, Finland will allow US soldiers access to 15 military areas and facilities covering the entire Nordic nation, all the way from a key southern naval base and inland air bases to an army training area in Lapland.

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