Contents tagged with Finland
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US F-15s arrive in Finland for joint training flights
US F-15 fighter planes arrived at the Finnish air base Rissala on Friday where they will take part in joint training flights with Finnish fighters. They will also participate in the Finnish-Swedish exercise Cross Border Training (CBT), as reported by Yle.
It is the first time that American fighters will be based on Finnish territory. Earlier, US aircraft took part in flights within the framework of exercises in the air space of the country, but without taking off and landing from Finnish …
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Finnish President: Finland's decision to join NATO will be decided by a referendum
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, who is in favor of maintaining the present non-aligned policy, noted that the issue on the country entering NATO should be put to a national referendum.
Commenting on the report of the international expert group about the consequences of NATO entry for the country, published on Friday, he stated in an interview with Yle that Russia sees NATO as a threat, which was also outlined in the report.
“They don’t want this threat to reach their borders,” the …
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Finnish government report states the country's ascension to NATO would provoke a crisis with Russia
According to a report released by the Finnish government, if the country joined NATO, it would provoke a crisis in relations with Russia, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported.
As noted by the Yle Finnish broadcasting company, a working group which assesses the implications of the possible accession of Finland to NATO submitted a report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini.
According to the report, membership in NATO would most likely affect Finland's security, as it would help deter …
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Finland allocates half a million euros for humanitarian aid to Ukraine
The Ambassador of Ukraine to Finland, Andriy Olefirov, wrote on Twitter that Finland announced the allocation of half a million euros for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. "Today the government of Finland has announced the allocation of the next tranche of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 500 thousand euros," Olefirov wrote.
Recently, the European Commission allocated a new humanitarian package worth 20 million euros to help people affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. …
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Finland is opposed to lifting sanctions against Russia
Finland advocates full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Timo Soini, during his working visit to Ukraine on February 17th at a meeting with Pavel Klimkin.
During the meeting of the Ministers, the Finnish side assured the Ukrainians that they would continue to adhere to the EU's common positions. However, the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements will be a precondition for the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
In …
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Finnish authorities surprised by influx of refugees across border with Russia
The Deputy Chief of the Finnish Border Guard, Ilkka Laitinen, is perplexed by the situation in which their border with Russia has quickly become one of the main crossing areas for refugees. It is noted that more than 20 asylum-seekers crossed the border on Monday, February, 15th.
"This phenomenon raises many questions, the answers to which we do not have. One question is why people are crossing the northern border of Raja-Jooseppi and Salla, while the southern border crossings remain the …
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Finland concerned about possible influx of refugees to Russia
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, has said that Russia could face the same influx of refugees that Turkey is witnessing. This was reported by Interfax on the 14th of February, with reference to a statement made by Niinistö in the Finnish edition of MTV News during the Munich Security Conference.
"If Turkey closes its border, or its running stream is under control, the uncontrollable wave of people will move somewhere else," Niinistö said. "In this sense, Russia could become the next …
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Finland prepared to deploy troops along Russian border to control refugee crisis
In reference to a Lännen Media publication, Kainuun Sanomat reported that Finnish authorities are prepared to deploy soldiers in joint force with the Russian Federation along the eastern border. This is due to the current influx of refugees into Finland. It was noted that as of right now there are officially 1500 guards protecting the border with Russia, which equates to approximately one border guard per kilometer.
“However, in practice, only a part of personnel is on duty there,” the …
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Timo Soini: Illegal Crossings of Russian-Finnish Border Must Be Stopped
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Timo Soini, stated that it is necessary to take tough steps in order to stop illegal migration across the Russian-Finnish border. “It seems that rough measures are even desperately required. We have to bring an end to illegal immigration and migration,” the Minister stated in an interview.
The influx of refugees from the Middle East and Africa is rising south of the Murmansk region on the border with Finland. Refugees are no longer allowed to cross …
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Finland Expects Thousands of Refugees to Enter Via Russia In 2016
Finland’s national public-broadcasting company, Yle, cited the Lapland border service, who predicted that in the year 2016 about 7,500 refugees could enter Finland through the border with Russia. This forecast was made based on the current rate of arrival of asylum-seekers.
Since the beginning of the year around 200 refugees crossed the Finnish-Russian border through the checkpoints Salla and Raja-Jooseppi. Most of the refugees were Iraqis, Afghans, Nepalese and Syrians. Last year 700 …