The US and Finland signed a military cooperation agreement

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Finland's Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Elina Valtonen and Antti Hekänen, participated in the signing of the new defense cooperation agreement, which will serve as the rules for US military presence and assistance in Finland after Russia's northern neighbor became the newest member of the NATO military alliance earlier this year, TVP World reported.
The agreement lists 15 sites and areas in Finland to which the US military will have unhindered access and where they can store military equipment and ammunition.
Those areas include four air bases, a military port and rail access to northern Finland, where the U.S. military will have a storage area along a rail line that leads to the Russian border, the agreement states.
"We now have a network of defense cooperation agreements that stretches from northern to southern Europe, ensuring security and stability for people across the continent. And together, we will continue to support Ukraine as well. American aid is critical to building of Ukraine's capacity to get back on its feet militarily, economically, and democratically, and to ensure that President Putin's war of aggression remains a strategic failure. We will continue to work with Congress to pass President Biden's supplemental budget request, which is vital to securing this outcome," said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Neighboring Sweden, which has also asked to join NATO but has been left on hold due to opposition from Turkey and Hungary, signed a similar agreement with the US last week, giving it access to 17 areas, including four air bases, a port and five military camps .
"The agreement enables us to act together in all situations and strengthens the security of the Nordic and Baltic regions. As a NATO ally, Finland will maintain a reliable national defense that will make NATO stronger. I want to emphasize our strong commitment to the Alliance and its security overall. Sweden's immediate NATO membership is a priority for us. Today we will also discuss Ukraine. With its attack on Ukraine, Russia made a monumental strategic mistake. Continuing strong support for Ukraine remains a key priority for us. The EU has already taken the historic decision to begin negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership. We will insist on reaching an agreement on future long-term military and financial support for Ukraine in the shortest possible time," said Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen./BGNES