Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) says that Finnish officials always take a serious attitude toward security warnings, such as the one posted on the web site of the US Embassy in Helsinki of a possible threat against Americans in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
Commenting on the warning, Vanhanen noted that there was nothing suggesting that there was any threat specifically aimed at Finland.
Vanhanen was in Stockholm on Monday attending a meeting of prime ministers of the Nordic Countries held in conjunction with the current session of the Nordic Council.
Vanhanen added that Finns have no reason to worry, and that Finnish officials are on top of events.
He would not speculate on who or what might be behind the threat. "Of course there is speculation, naturally linked with the proximity of the Presidential elections in the United States."
The Prime Minister had learned about the threat already on Friday. In his view these kinds of warnings are not unique, but they are also not very common.
The other Nordic leaders largely agreed: the threat needs to be taken seriously, but the people are not in any danger.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Göran Persson said that Sweden does not need to raise its level of alert.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that there is no indication that Denmark would be threatened.
Norway’s Kjell Magne Bondevik discussed the reasons for the sudden closure of the Norwegian Embassy in Latvia. He said that the move was taken after information came from intelligence services cooperating with Norway.
Norway closed its Embassy in the Latvian capital Riga on Monday because of a terrorist threat. According to Norwegian officials the threat was not linked with the warning on the Nordic and Baltic States issued by the US State Department.
Norway’s Foreign Ministry would not comment on a television news report that a radical Islamist group had threatened Norway in Latvia.
The Baltic Countries and Denmark have forces in Iraq and Norway has troops serving in Afghanistan.
