Finland will sign a defense treaty with the US

NATO's newest member, Finland, has announced that it will sign a bilateral defense cooperation agreement with the US next week.
Finland's Scandinavian neighbor Sweden, which is on the verge of joining NATO, signed a similar agreement last week.
The deal would allow Washington to deploy troops and store weapons on the territory of the country, which shares a border with Russia.
Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen stated at a press conference in Helsinki that Defense Minister Antti Hekänen will sign the so-called Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) on 18 December.
The pact, which still needs to be approved by Finnish lawmakers, "is very important for the defense and security of Finland," Hekänen said.
"It carries a very strong message at this time. The United States is committed to our defense," he added.
Finland joined NATO in April after decades of military non-alignment, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The nation of 5.6 million people shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, which forms a significant part of NATO's northeastern flank. It is also the external border of the European Union in its northern part.
Under the agreement, Finland will allow US troops access to 15 military zones and facilities spanning the entire Scandinavian country.
They range from a key naval base in the south of the country and air bases inland to a vast remote army training area in Lapland, in the arctic north.
US troops are allowed a permanent presence and regular exercises in Finland, but there are no plans to establish permanent US military bases in Finland, officials said.
Several NATO countries currently have similar bilateral defense agreements with the US. /BGNES