Congratulations to the President-elect of the United States Joe Biden and the Vice-Chairman Kamala Harris their election, President of Finland Sauli Niinistö held a press conference on Sunday to present its views on the change in U.S. administration.
Speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace, Niinistö predicted that Biden’s term would represent Washington "return to the table" addressing global crises such as climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.
Niinistö said he believes that Washington will once again resume organized international cooperation, starting with the UN and NATO.
“Biden’s election as President of the United States can be described as bringing the country back on the table. We especially hope to return to the Paris table, in other words, the Paris Climate Agreement,” Niinistö said.
There is unlikely to be a change in bilateral ties
Niinistö said that he does not believe that Biden’s victory will bring significant changes in relations between Finland and the United States. Niinistö said that bilateral ties began to tighten during the year Barack Obama when Biden was vice chairman.
According to the president, Russia’s actions in relation to Crimea and eastern Ukraine aroused the interest of the US government in Finland “because we are, in a way, Russian experts,” he told Yle’s Swedish-language news.
"Cooperation between the United States and Finland has also increased on Arctic issues," he said.
The American is also interested in Finnish technology know-how, including 5G networks and icebreakers, he added.
Biden’s Finnish birthday video greeting
The President noted that the relationship has also been stimulated by the United States’ efforts to encourage Finland to replace its aging fleet of Boeing Hornet fighter jets built by the United States with new American F / A-18 Super Hornets or Lockheed Martin F-35s.
Three European aircraft models are also being considered for purchase, which is expected to cost around € 10 billion.
In 2017, Niinistö publicly denied the president’s statement Donald Trump that Finland will buy more Hornettes. A decision is not expected before 2021.
Niinistö pointed out that over the years, Biden has met many Finnish politicians and visited the country in 2011.
He also reminded that shortly before leaving the White House in 2017, Biden recorded a two-minute video message that warmly congratulated Finland on its 100th anniversary.
Niinistö said that he would meet Biden twice, in 2011, when he was the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament, and in 2018 Munich Security Conference.
The ties between the United States and Russia are difficult to predict
Niinistö said relations between the United States and Russia are difficult to predict, but he does not expect major changes.
“Hopefully, disarmament talks will continue so that at least one area is open where they can try to discuss and build peace,” he said.
Last month, Russian and American negotiators met in Helsinki to negotiate an extension of the two countries’ nuclear disarmament agreement, known as the New Start Agreement, which expires in February. The original start-up agreements of the 1990s grew out of the SALT negotiations that began in Helsinki in 1969.
According to the Finnish Constitution, the President is primarily responsible for overseeing foreign policy, although the Cabinet is mostly responsible for EU relations.
Source: The Nordic Page
