Finnish president to talk crisis management at NATO summit
Finnish president Sauli Niinistö will attend a summit of NATO member states in Brussels from 11-12 July. United States President Donald Trump will also participate in the meeting of the military alliance.
Trump will continue from Brussels to the UK and then to Helsinki, where he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 16 July. The pair are expected to focus on US-Russian relations as well as a range of national security issues during the Helsinki meeting.
On Wednesday 11 July, Niinistö will attend a working dinner for heads of state and government, while on Thursday 12 July he will join discussions on NATO’s Resolute Support crisis management operation in Afghanistan.
Finnish delegation
Niinistö’s nine-member delegation will include Ambassador Piritta Asunmaa, head of Finland’s mission to NATO, as well as officials from the foreign and defence ministries and the president’s office. The delegation will also be accompanied by several foreign ministry experts.
In addition to regular NATO members, Wednesday’s dinner will be attended by NATO Enhanced Opportunity Partners, Finland, Sweden and the EU.
Niinistö also participated in previous NATO summits in Warsaw in 2016, in Wales in 2014 and in Chicago in 2012.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Canada extends air defence monitoring zone to entire Canadian Arctic, Radio Canada International
Finland: Nordic nations to hone air combat skills over Finnish Lapland, Yle News
Norway: Adding U.S. Marines in Norway creates instability, says Russia, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russia’s Northern Fleet launches surprise, large-scale exercise in Barents Sea, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Sweden issues first brochure on war and crisis preparedness since Cold War, Radio Sweden
United States: American fighter jets intercept Russian bombers outside Alaska, Alaska Public Media
