Finland’s membership in NATO, Ambassador Nissinen for The Geopost: We are committed to the stability of the Balkans, we continue with unwavering support for Kosovo

Finland will be committed to providing security and stability for the countries of the Western Balkans, said the country’s ambassador to Kosovo, Matti Nissinen.

On the day when Finland became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), Ambassador Nissinen in an interview for The Geopost guaranteed that this country will continue its support for Kosovo.

“Finland has been committed to security and stability here in the Balkans for many, many years and we will definitely continue to do so,” Nissinen said.

“Since the time of President Martti Ahtisaari, we have been fully committed to promoting Kosovo’s future in European and Euro-Atlantic organizations and we will definitely continue to provide that unwavering support for Kosovo in the future,” he added.

Ambassador Nissinen said that Finland’s membership in NATO is historic.

“We have been very close to NATO already earlier with training in various joint activities with NATO, also at the same time many things remain the same with Finland, but still this is an important historical day for us”, said the Finnish ambassador.

In the message sent to the people of Kosovo, the ambassador of Finland in Pristina emphasized that the support for our country will continue in Finnish politics.

Our political leaders have repeatedly and publicly emphasized that Finland supports Kosovo’s various international memberships in organizations, be it the Council of Europe or the European Union or eventually NATO membership, and our politicians have said this publicly and I am happy to repeat it here with you today, and this is something that will definitely continue in Finnish politics.

In this interview, Ambassador Nissinen also talked about what Finland offers in terms of security in NATO.

Full interview

The Geopost: Mr. Ambassador, congratulations on Finland joining NATO alliance, what will change for Finland and for NATO today after officially becoming NATO member?

Well. thank you first of all for the congratulations, it’s truly a historic day for Finland and I would say that also for European security architecture this is very important day.

As we speak, Finland is very close to becoming the 31^st NATO member state, so it’s very big day for us Fins and with this membership Finland will become a full member of NATO which of course means also Article 5 collective defense guarantee for Finland, so this is something that will definitely change for Finland but at the same time we have been very close to NATO already earlier with exercises at different joint activities with NATO, also at the same time many things remain the same with Finland but still historical important day for us.

The Geopost: We read statements of some Russian officials that they are not happy about Finland joining NATO, does this pose any threat to Finland now?

Well, first of all we do not consider that there is any threat militarily against Finland, our policy and actions are such that we aim to increase stability and peace in our region and beyond, so this is the starting point for the Finnish policy.

We consider ourselves as a security provider, not a consumer, so this is very important element of Finnish policy and it will not change even with a NATO membership, at the same time we of course have for many, many years taken care of our national defense and we will continue to develop our defense forces also in the future.

The Geopost: Now as a NATO member, what can Finland do more about Balkan states and especially Kosovo?

Finland has been committed to security and stability here in the Balkans for many, many years and we will definitely continue to do so. From the times of president Ahtisaari we have been fully committed in promoting the future of Kosovo in European and Euro-Atlantic organizations and we will definitely continue to give that unwavering support for Kosovo also in the future.

We have for many years been quite actively present here in the country, be it in the KFOR troops or EU missions, this is something that we are still committed on promoting.

The Gepost: Do you have any message for people of Kosovo?

Our political leaders have repeatedly and publicly highlighted that Finland supports Kosovo’s different international memberships in organizations, be it in the Council of Europe or European Union or eventually also NATO membership and our politicians have said so publicly and I am happy to repeat it here with you today, and this is something that will definitely continue in Finnish policy. /The Geopost/