The NATO exercise sends thousands of U.S. troops to Finland, simulates a possible Russian attack on Finland, and triggers NATO Article 5.
president of finland Sauli Niinistö The aim was to alleviate concerns about the threat of war amid increased military activity involving NATO forces in Finland.
President Niinistö’s comments were made during a visit to Tampere on Saturday where he met with regional representatives.
These comments come in the wake of a report on Friday, January 19, from Sweden’s national public broadcaster SVT detailing the first NATO military exercises in decades that are scheduled to begin in Finland next week.
According to SVT, the exercise will send thousands of U.S. troops to Finland and include a scenario in which Russia attacks Finland and NATO invokes Article 5 of the collective defense clause. In this scenario, thousands of U.S. troops would move from Norway through Sweden to Finland.
Niinistö referred to the current climate of heightened sensitivity to military activity and suggested that events are often seen too quickly as a sign of impending war.
“Well, I would avoid the war drama part,” he said at a press conference in Tampere. “We make a big fuss about war issues and military exercises, but these things have been going on for years. It exists. It doesn’t really exist,” he added. That doesn’t mean everything will go in a different direction right away. ”
Niinistö: Strength guarantees peace
Niinistö also emphasized the importance of strength in maintaining peace.
“The most important peace operation is to make yourself so strong that no one wants to disturb that peace,” he said.
This perspective was also echoed by the following opinions: Ilmari Silkworman associate professor of war studies at the Swedish National Defense University in Stockholm, told the Yale TV1 talk show Ikkosarm on Saturday that the exercise showed that NATO considered an attack on Finland a possibility.
Mr. Niinistö also emphasized the importance of Finland’s involvement in NATO operations, particularly in exercises that specifically implement the implementation of Article 5, which Finland has not previously participated in. He pointed out that for more than 20 years he had observed European countries ignoring their responsibilities. defense.
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