Sun, 13 Apr, 2014 01:38:41 AM FTimes-STT Report, April 13  Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen is speaking in an interview with Yle on Saturday. Photo Lehtikuva. Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on Saturday made contradictory remarks on Finland’s stance about joining NATO.
In an interview with Yle, the prime minister said he believed that Finland should seek NATO membership.
In sharp reaction, the foreign minister said the country did not need NATO membership.
The premier however pointed out that his opinion regarding the membership was personal and that Finland’s official position had not changed. He added that the government would not apply for NATO.
He also said if Finland considers joining NATO at all, it should do so along with Sweden.
The NATO emblem is seen before a defence ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on October 22, 2013. File Photo AFP-Lehtikuva The premier reiterated that Ukraine crisis did not pose an immediate threat to Finland’s security.
FM Erkki Tuomioja later told Yle that Finland’s partnership with the NATO was enough.
The foreign minister said Ukraine crisis had not changed the position of Finland’s security policy. Joining NATO would only bring more problems, he said.
The FM, also a leader of ruling ally Suomen, reckoned that Katainen could express himself more freely as a member of Kokoomus member because his tenure was coming to an end.
The prime minister has already announced that he will quit from the post of party chief and the head of government this summer.
Katainen also stressed the need for taking care of its defences so that it did not turn out to be a typical small country under Russia’s pressure. “It was also important that the Russians living in the country be accorded the same treatment,” he said.
File picture of Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. Photo Lehtikuva. Katainen would also like to see closer cooperation with Russia and encouraged students, entrepreneurs and researchers in this regard.
He however acknowledged that he belonged to a minority when it came to NATO membership, meaning most people had been against it.
Various surveys conducted in the country said most Finnish did not support joining NATO.
Chines state news agency Xinhua on March 24 reported that a heated debate on the defence and security policy in Finland was underway. NATO membership, which has been a long discussed topic in Finland, has become a core issue.
A recent survey conducted by Finland’s leading news and picture agency Lehtikuva, showed that joining NATO got 22% support. After just a week, it rose to 26% in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
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