Finland: Four NATO warships arrive in Helsinki for exercises in Baltic Sea

Four warships from the United States, Germany and France have arrived in Finland's capital, Helsinki. The warships of Germany and the US will take part in the exercises in the Baltic Sea, YLE reported. The development comes after Finland applied for membership in NATO on May 18. 

Squadron Commander Jussi Jamsen of Finland's Navy said that the arrival of NATO warships in Helsinki indicates its support for Finland. He stressed that Finland appreciates the arrival of NATO warships in the country that has submitted applications for membership in the military alliance, as per the YLE report. Meanwhile, the Finland government has also announced to increase training and exercise activities with partner countries. 

Finland to increase military exercises with international partners 

Earlier on 27 May, Finland Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen announced that Finland will increase its international military exercises. Kaikkonen said that 20 new training and exercise events have been planned for 2022, including 8 new events, according to the statement released by Finland's Defence Ministry. According to the Defence Minister, the decision of Helsinki to hold exercises with close partners is aimed at strengthening Finland's defence capabilities and presence of troops. 

Finland has ramped up its exercise cooperation in particular with the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Norway. The training and exercise activities will be conducted with the land, naval, and air forces as well as special forces. According to the statement, most of the training activities will be carried out in Finland and some of them will be conducted in partner countries according to the principles of cross-border training activities. Finland's Defence Ministry in the statement said that training activities will "improve" Finland's capacity to become a member of NATO. 

Finland apply for membership in NATO

Earlier on May 18, Sweden and Finland submitted their official applications for membership in NATO. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the requests of Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance by saying "this is a good day, at a critical moment for our security."

After Finland and Sweden submitted their applications to become a member of NATO, nations like Canada, Britain and the United States welcomed the decision. However, Turkey has raised concerns over the decision of Sweden and Finland to join the 30-member military alliance. Notably, Finland and Sweden need the support of all 30 member countries to join NATO. On May 25, the delegations of Sweden and Finland arrived in Ankara to hold talks with Turkey over their NATO bid. Taking to its Twitter handle, the Finnish Foreign Ministry announced that Finland, Sweden and Turkey agreed to continue the dialogue "in a constructive spirit." 

Image: AP