Kanerva meets Rice in Washington, praises Finnish-US relations

Security issues high on agenda

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Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coalition Party) said on Monday that he was very satisfied with his meeting with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
     Speaking with reporters outside the US State Department after the visit, he said that it is not usual in politics to have such a pleasant and warm-spirited meeting.
     
Kanerva sees the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a great challenge. He noted that many difficult issues have been brought forward.
     Kanerva said that the Finnish term chairing the OSCE sends an important signal to the world on how Finland can deal with the chairmanship in an enlightened and decisive way.
     Kanerva said that relations between Finland and the United States are at a very good level, and that there is no need to change course.
     "Finnish foreign policy is clearly respected in many ways over here, and this came up in my discussions with Rice", Kanerva said.
     He said that discussions touched upon the NATO Response Force (NRF), and that the US Secretary of State had hoped that Finland and Sweden could make positive decisions on the matter.
     Kanerva said that the upcoming Bucharest summit "will give a kind of window on what will happen with respect to Finland".
     Kanerva said that Secretary of State Rice was disappointed with Russia's negative attitude toward the OSCE election observers.
     
Rice was interested in hearing Kanerva's impressions from his recent visit to Kosovo and Serbia.
     Foreign Minister Kanerva was asked after his meeting with the Secretary of State if he expected the United States to recognise the independence of Kosovo if the province declares itself independent on Sunday, as is rumoured.
     "Whether the Untied States plans to recognise Kosovo or not was not discussed, but as a hot tip I can say that I would not consider it impossible. Kosovo has said in advance that it will not issue a declaration of independence unless it has a feel for the international atmosphere."
      "The European foreign ministers conveniently have a meeting next Monday. This meeting has been known about for a long time, but I do not know if the calendar has been looked at in Kosovo."
     
Later on Monday, at a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, Kanerva lamented that in spite of his efforts as OSCE Chairman, he was unable to reach agreement with Russia on the terms for sending election observers to the upcoming Presidential elections in Russia.
     The OSCE had hoped to send election monitors to Russia a couple of months in advance to observe both preparations for the elections, and the vote itself.
     Now, apparently the OSCE will have to make do with sending Parliamentarians to observe the actual election process for just a few days.
     The OSCE has 56 member states, and 19 local officers in different countries helping promote aims such as good governance and conflict resolution.
     In his speech, Kanerva said that the European Union is seeking to be more efficient and more unified as a political actor on the global level. He emphasised the importance of cooperation between the EU and NATO.
     Kanerva also took up defence cooperation among the Nordic Countries. He said that as costs rise, the Nordic Countries are seeking to share the costs of training and materiel acquisition.
     On Russia Kanerva noted on a general level, that although there are difficulties in that country's development toward democracy, the OSCE has no option but to get Russia involved.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Kanerva hopes for agreement with Russia on OSCE election monitoring (31.1.2008)
  Kanerva: Finland ready for new tasks in Kosovo (11.1.2008)
  OSCE not sending election monitors to Russia (8.2.2008)

Links:
  OSCE Press release: OSCE Chairman meets Secretary of State Rice, says continued U.S. support crucial
  Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs press release: OSCE Chairman meets Secretary of State Rice, says continued U.S. support crucial

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