Finnish President Sauli Niinistö sought to alleviate concerns over the threat of war, amidst heightened military activities involving Nato forces in Finland.
President Niinistö's comments came during his visit to Tampere on Saturday, where he was meeting with regional representatives.
The backdrop to these comments was a report by Sweden's national public broadcaster SVT, which on Friday, 19 January, detailed Nato's largest military exercise in decades set to commence next week in Finland.
According to SVT, the exercise will bring thousands of American soldiers to Finland, featuring a scenario where Russia attacks Finland and Nato invokes Article 5, its collective defence clause. In this scenario, thousands of US troops would move from Norway through Sweden to Finland.
Niinistö addressed the current atmosphere of heightened sensitivity to military activities, suggesting that events are often too quickly seen as signals of an impending war.
“Yes, I would avoid a bit of the war drama in this,” he said during a press conference in Tampere, adding, "There's a lot of fuss about war matters and military exercises, but these have been around for ages. It doesn’t mean everything turns in a different direction immediately.”
Niinistö: Strength ensures peace
Niinistö also emphasised the importance of strength in maintaining peace.
“The most important peace work is making oneself so strong that no one wants to disturb that peace,” he remarked.
This perspective was echoed by Ilmari Käihkö, Associate Professor of War Studies at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm, who evaluated on Yle TV1's Ykkösaamu talk show programme on Saturday that the exercise indicates that Nato views an attack on Finland as a possibility.
Niinistö also highlighted the significance of Finland's involvement in Nato operations, particularly those exercises specifically practising the implementation of Article 5, something Finland has not previously participated in. He noted that for over two decades, he has observed European countries neglecting their responsibility for their own defence.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.
