HELSINKI - Finland is open to discussions on France's proposal to extend its nuclear umbrella across Europe, the Finnish foreign minister said recently, while adding it would not replace U.S. nuclear deterrence.
Speaking in an interview with Kyodo News in Helsinki on Aug. 13, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen noted that Europe is "very much investing" in conventional defense and deterrence across the continent, with Finland open to discussing how France's nuclear arsenal could be used for deterrence in the long term.
Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2023, abandoning its long-standing nonaligned policy, amid a growing threat from neighboring Russia that launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
With U.S. President Donald Trump's administration playing down NATO, France has rolled out a nuclear deterrence strategy that it calls "forward deterrence," while also touching on the possibility of temporarily deploying nuclear-capable aircraft to other countries. Germany and Norway are among those who have expressed interest in participating.
In July, Finland put into force an amended law allowing nuclear weapons to be brought into the country, aligning with other NATO members.
But Valtonen stressed that "doesn't mean that Finland would store any nuclear weapons, obviously Finland is not a nuclear state."
"Unfortunately, we do still have nuclear weapons in the world, and for as long as we do have those, then NATO, again as a defensive alliance, is making use of nuclear deterrence as well," she said, adding that Finland is at the same time striving for a world where the number of warheads could be reduced.
In response to concerns that Finland's policy shift could provoke Russia, Valtonen countered, "The one country who has been not only increasing tension, but truly escalating in Europe and in the world...has been Russia."
