Tuesday’s talks in Finland between US and Russian military chiefs are the latest in a long history of Finland being used as a neutral venue for discussions between East and West.
Finland, a neutral country nestled next to the Leningrad military district, was eager to promote better relations between the superpowers, under the leadership of President Urho Kekkonen.
The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) soon covered the world form North America, through Europe, and into Siberia - at least on paper.
In September 1990 Finland opened its doors when US President George Bush Sr. and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachov met for talks.
In March 1997 Russian President Boris Yeltsin was not physically able to travel much further than Finland to meet with his American colleague Bill Clinton. Discussions revolved around NATO enlargement and Russia’s role in it.
Finland continued to offer such services during the term of the current President, Tarja Halonen. Tuesday was a new phase in Finnish peace promotion, which former President Martti Ahtisaari extended to cover the whole world.
