Sun, 05 Apr, 2015 12:02:04 AM FTimes – STT Report, April 5  Keskusta Chair Juha Sipilä. File Photo – Lehtikuva. The foreign and security policies of the Keskusta (Centre Party) are in line with those of former president and prime minister Juho Kusti Paasikivi, though still closely aligned with the EU, said the party chairman, Juha Sipilä.
Speeches by European Parliament Minister Paavo Väyrynen (Centre) about Paasikivi’s policies have raised questions about the party’s policies regarding Russia.
Väyrynen has criticized sanctions against Russia and said that Finland should follow Paasikivi’s example so that Russia would not feel threatened by Finland.
According to Väyrynen, foreign policy to Paasikivi meant the relationship between Finland and Russia. Sipilä agrees with the importance of Paasikivi’s nurturing of bilateral relations.
“To me, it’s clear as day that Finland is a western country, and we are part of a united European front, for example, when it comes to sanctions, but, at the same time, we value being on good terms with our neighbours,” Sipilä said STT.
According to Sipilä, the Centre Party’s policy line contains elements of Paasikivi’s, though things have changed since Paasikivi’s time.
Sipilä believes that Paasikivi’s policies included nurturing non-alignment of Finland’s military with others.
“When we, together with Sweden, create a non-aligned Nordic military agreement, we do not pose a threat to either the east or the west. In my opinion, this is one of the key cornerstones of Finnish security in the future,” said the Keskusta chief.
Sipilä believes that the future government will not, however, rule out application for NATO membership.
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