Häkämies in Washington: Russia Finland's greatest challenge

print this

Speaking to an audience of security policy experts at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, Finland's Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) noted that Russia is Finland's greatest security policy challenge.
      Häkämies explained why Finland is still maintaining "the concept of regional defence and conscription", and why it is staying outside military alliances, although practically all other countries of the developed world see these as ideas of a bygone era.
     
Häkämies pointed out that Finland is taking part in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, in Africa, and in Afghanistan.
      He said that it would suit Finnish interests best if the defence cooperation between NATO and the EU would grow stronger, but that for Finland, the national interest is paramount.
      Häkämies told his audience that while Finland actively takes part in peacekeeping abroad, it needs to keep its powder dry for its own national defence, if our regional inviolability or even our national existence were to be threatened.
     
The minister added that Finland is privileged to be located in one of the most secure corners of the world.
      However, he added that Finland's geographical location also brings three main security policy challenges: "Russia, Russia, and Russia".
      Häkämies said that Russia's military interest is waking from its recent hibernation. Signs of this include flights by Russian bombers over Iceland and Northern Scotland. Russia is also showing interest toward the polar regions, and the Baltic Sea is turning into an important transport route for energy.
      As for what this might mean for Finnish national security, Häkämies said that it would be "a crazy and incorrect conclusion" to think that Russia would threaten Finnish security.
      As Häkämies sees it, the issue at hand is that the time of geopolitics is not over in Northern Europe, and that it is making a powerful comeback.
      Defence Minister Häkämies is scheduled to meet with his U.S. counterpart Defense Secretary Robert Gates today, Friday.
     
The minister's remarks to the CSIS gathering generated immediate fallout back at home, with the former Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) describing the unusually strongly-worded comments about Russia as displaying a complete lack of judgement, with one-sided views being brought out in quite the wrong forum.
      Tuomioja questioned whether it might not be an opportune moment to ask which was government thinking and which was the policy of the National Coalition Party in such matters.
      To some extent the former Foreign Minister was backed up in this respect by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre Party), who hastily noted on Friday morning that Finnish security policy is grounded on broader challenges, and that Häkämies's remarks had contained elements of personal rhetoric rather than the accepted government line.
     
The full transcript of Häkämies's speech is available as an audio file from the CSIS site below.


Links:
  CSIS Statesmen´s Forum Jyri Häkämies, 6.9.2007
  About CSIS

Helsingin Sanomat