Ronkainen, who is also the vice-chairman of the Defense Committee, expressed his surprise at the press conference at Marini’s comments about donating Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine. There are currently 62 F/A-18 Hornet fighter planes in Finland, which are scheduled to be retired by 2025.
“It has been reported that the Prime Minister’s speech during his trip came as a surprise not only to the President of the Republic but also to the Minister of Defense. In addition, he has hardly discussed the matter beforehand with the Commander of the Defense Forces. . Bypassing foreign and security policy bodies and expressing personal opinions that can easily be interpreted abroad as Finland’s position was from the Prime Minister thoughtless,” said Ronkainen.
Finland’s Hornet fighter jets will be replaced by American F-35 fighter jets under the HX program, a historic and large-scale aircraft contract that has been ongoing since 2019. The Hornet fighters, commissioned between 1995 and 2000, have a lifespan of 30 years, and the last of them will be retired by 2030.
“Hornets are a significant part of Finland’s defense capability until the end of their life cycle. We cannot promise them to anyone without taking into account Finland’s own defense capability or even the operational capability of the Hornets at the end of their life cycle. Prime Minister Such a decision cannot be made without first consulting experts,” said Ronkainen.
According to the Finnish Constitution, the President of the Republic leads Finland’s foreign policy in cooperation with the government. In practice, foreign and security policy decisions are made by the Government’s foreign and security policy committee, which meets with the president.
“The Prime Minister’s unilateral statement on arms donations is worrying, especially considering that a separate security policy advisor was planned for the Prime Minister earlier this year. Foreign and security policy must be done together, and there is no room for solo presentations, especially in this global climate,” said Ronkainen.
At the same time, a Finnish MP Mikko Kärnä demanded that Prime Minister Marin apologize to Ukraine for his comments during his visit to Kyiv. Central Kärnä expressed his disappointment with Marini’s promise to donate Finland’s Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine without consulting with other board members or the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces.
“Hornets, on the other hand, would be a bad idea for many reasons. First, we need them until 2026 to secure our own air defense, and second, they would be obsolete equipment by then. Third, I sincerely hope that the war will be over by the time Ukraine defeats the Russians. Marin’s statement was brazen and thoughtless election trick,” Kärnä said.
Kärnä expressed his sympathy for the Ukrainians, but demanded that Prime Minister Marini apologize to Ukraine and make it clear that Finland cannot donate its Hornets to them.
It is not clear why Prime Minister Marin announced the donation of Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine without consulting other cabinet members or defense experts. Some have speculated that his lack of foreign and security policy experience may have influenced his decision-making. Marin became the prime minister of Finland in 2019, making him the youngest prime minister in the world at the time.
Sanna Marin was elected to parliament for the first time in 2015 as a representative of SDP. Before becoming Prime Minister in 2019, he served as Minister of Transport and Communications for 6 months. Before his political career, he worked in several different positions, including as a salesperson, cashier and in the restaurant industry. He graduated with a master’s degree in administrative sciences from the University of Tampere in 2017.
HT
Source: The Nordic Page