Be careful to not jump through all misinformation loops: some media outlets now reporting that Finland is planning to locate NATO's nuclear weapons on its border with Russia. This is not true and such plans are not in the making, not by Finland nor NATO.
Short thread🧵
Short thread🧵
1. Finland's policy on the subject is clear: once we join NATO, we will participate in the planning and development of that deterrence without preconditions. Bottom line is that Finland will not limit the benefits of its membership and the deterrence it provides.
2. Yet, this is not the same as agreeing or planning to locate nuclear weapons in Finland. No one in the Finnish national debate is suggesting this and no political leader is talking about it. It's simply not an issue. Let's take a look at what the PM and the President have said:
3. Prime Minister @MarinSanna 29.10.
"I've considered it very important that we don't set these kinds of preconditions, or limit our own room for maneuvering, when it comes to permanent bases or nuclear weapons."
yle.fi/news/3-12670106
"I've considered it very important that we don't set these kinds of preconditions, or limit our own room for maneuvering, when it comes to permanent bases or nuclear weapons."
yle.fi/news/3-12670106
4. President @niinisto 30.9.
"The bottom line is that Finland is seeking to become a NATO member, full stop. Nothing more, nothing less. We don’t have any particular requests or reservations that we would be setting as preconditions for our membership."
presidentti.fi/en/speeches/ke…
"The bottom line is that Finland is seeking to become a NATO member, full stop. Nothing more, nothing less. We don’t have any particular requests or reservations that we would be setting as preconditions for our membership."
presidentti.fi/en/speeches/ke…
5. The official policy's then, that Finland's not setting any limits to its membership, period. That shouldn't be interpreted as a desire to locate nukes on its soil. Hard to imagine NATO strategic/political intentions for this either: no nukes in new member states since the 90's
6. Instead, what we can expect from Finland, NATO and nukes is the following: as a member state, Finland will commit to NATO's guidelines and policies regarding the role of nuclear weapons as part of NATO's deterrence. Very simple.
7. Finland will likely participate in the Alliance's NPG. This doesn't mean that NATO's nuclear weapons will maneuver to Finland, but we'll likely have to define our policy to the logistics of nuclear weapons in relation to Finland's capabilities/territories. Standard action.
8. My ABC: if you write about Finland's policy you should either:
1. Check the facts
2. Read the national debate.
3. Ask someone who knows.
4. Do all of the above.
Kiitos!
1. Check the facts
2. Read the national debate.
3. Ask someone who knows.
4. Do all of the above.
Kiitos!
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