Finland will not deploy nuclear weapons on its territory, president says

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that joining enhanced nuclear deterrence under a French initiative would not mean deploying nuclear weapons on Finnish territory.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that foreign media outlets cited a statement by the Finnish president on social media.

According to the reports, Stubb said the French initiative would neither replace nor overlap with NATO’s nuclear deterrence framework. He said Finland’s primary task was to operate as part of NATO and the European Union. “Finland does not intend to station nuclear weapons on its territory in peacetime,” the president stressed.

Finland had earlier decided to join the “enhanced nuclear deterrence” project proposed by France. The initiative is expected to strengthen the partnership between the two countries and create opportunities for strategic signaling and managing escalation below the nuclear threshold. A senior-level working group on nuclear issues is expected to be established in the coming months to begin implementing the cooperation.