PM Orpo announces preemptive measures, while President Stubb engages in balancing act between Moscow and Washington.
Finland plans to leave the Ottawa convention that bans antipersonnel landmines, following similar moves by other neighbouring states bordering Russia.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Tuesday that exiting the 1997 treaty would allow Finland to “prepare for the changes in the security environment in a more versatile way”. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, all among the staunchest allies of Ukraine, quit the agreement last month citing the potential threat from Moscow.
Orpo said Finland, which now guards NATO’s longest border – 1,300km (800 miles) – with Russia since joining the military alliance in 2023, is not in immediate danger. However, Moscow poses a long-term threat to all of Europe, he stated.
Once it exits the treaty, Finland will be able to stockpile landmines again to have them at hand should the need arise.
Orpo also announced plans to increase Finland’s defence spending to at least 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2029, indicating that spending by that time will rise by about 3 billion euros ($3.24bn).
The announcement came as United States President Donald Trump doubled down on his effort to halt the war in Ukraine, which has led to fear that a pause in the conflict could offer Moscow the chance to rearm and target its neighbours.
‘Sad state’
Finland shut its land border as Russia cast its new membership of NATO as a dangerous historic mistake. Helsinki has since accused Moscow of weaponising migration and extended the closure indefinitely.
However, on Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb – who has repeatedly warned about the need to be tough with Russia – told his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, that Helsinki needed to “mentally prepare” for the restoration of ties with Russia.
He said the timing of any rapprochement would depend on when the war in Ukraine ended, but said there was “no denying” that Russia would always be Finland’s neighbour.
Asked about Stubb’s comments on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Russia-Finland relations as being in a “sad state”, but added that President Vladimir Putin was open to normalising relations if Helsinki wanted to rebuild ties.
That same day, Stubb said Nordic countries should forge good bilateral relations with the US, making sure the country stays engaged in NATO.
Stubb met Trump for meetings and golf on Sunday, his office stating afterwards that he told the US president that a deadline needed to be set for the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire.
It has been mooted that Stubb may have made some headway in winning the US president’s confidence during the trip, a feat European leaders have been seeking to achieve.
Shortly after Stubb lost to Trump on the fairway, the US president lashed out at Putin for the first time during his bid to broker a truce in Ukraine.