According to The New York Times, Finland turned to former President Donald Trump when applying for NATO membership in order to secure the approval of the US Senate.
In the United States, former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has served as a kind of shadow president in US foreign policy for the past four or so years, writes The New York Times magazine.
Experts interviewed by the newspaper say that Trump still has contacts with foreign leaders, which makes him a significant player in US foreign policy.
As an example, the newspaper says that when applying for membership of the military alliance NATO, Finland turned to the sitting president Joe Biden but also to Trump to secure US Senate approval.
Finland’s ambassador to Washington at the time Mikko Hautala according to the newspaper, met with Trump to convince him of the benefits of Finland joining NATO. Trump, who is known for his anti-NATO, ultimately did not oppose membership, and the Senate approved Finland’s accession to NATO almost unanimously.
According to The New York Times, foreign leaders have approached Trump even more enthusiastically since he became the Republican presidential candidate in the November presidential elections.
For example, the heads of state of Ukraine, Israel and Britain have met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida or at Trump Tower in New York. According to the experts interviewed by the newspaper, this is because Trump is considered a possible future president.
About that reported earlier also Helsingin Sanomat.