US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken has arrived in Finland at Helsinki-Vantaa airport on Thursday evening at 9:30.
He is visiting Finland for the first time. The visit will be hosted by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green), whom Blinken will meet on Friday. In addition to Haavisto, Blinken will meet outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marini (sd.). Blinken is also scheduled to give a speech at Helsinki City Hall.
The content of the speech is not known, but it is expected to deal with the security situation in Europe and the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden.
Turkey has been reluctant to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership due to a dispute over terrorism legislation.
However, Turkey’s wishes for American fighters can change the situation in Sweden’s favor. Turkey wants to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States, but the majority of US senators are of the opinion that fighter deals can only be approved after Turkey ratifies Sweden’s NATO membership.
In Helsinki as part of the Pohjola tour
Earlier this week, Blinken also visited Oslo, Norway and Luleå, Sweden.
In Oslo, Blinken participated in an informal meeting of foreign ministers of the military alliance, where preparations were made for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.
At the summit in Lithuania in July, Sweden’s NATO membership and the member countries’ additional investments in defense are to be discussed.