Roundup: Finnish centrist party gives more weight to relationship with Russia

A possible change of focus in the Finnish foreign policy line has emerged following the comments by influential politicians of the poll-leading Centre Party, which appears to attach more importance to developing relationship with Russia.

The party leader Juha Sipila, who is likely to become prime minister after the elections in late April, said over the weekend that his party follows the line of post-war President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, but at the same time Finland would remain at the front of the EU.

Earlier last week, the long time centrist former Foreign Minister and former party leader Paavo Vayrynen demanded that Finland should act so that Russia would not perceive any threat from the direction of Finland.

Criticizing the current EU sanctions against Russia, Vayrynen cited Paasikivi, Finnish President during 1946-1956 and founder of Finland's post-WWII foreign policy, as reference.

In a statement obtained by the national news agency STT-Lehtikuva, Sipila said although the security policy environment of Finland has been different from the post-war time, his party's foreign policy line "has elements of the Paasikivi era".

Sipila said that he accepts the importance of bilateral relations with Russia that Paasikivi underlined.

Sipila said although "Finland is part of the West" and acts as part of the EU, but "at the same time it maintains good bilateral relations (with Russia)".

Remaining militarily nonaligned is part of the Paasikivi's line. "When we together with Sweden form a nonaligned north, we will not constitute any threat either to the East or to the West," Sipila said.

"This will be a corner stone of Finnish security policy in the future," he added.

Earlier, Vayrynen had attacked incumbent Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and Defence Minister Carl Haglund for their pro-West attitudes.

Haglund responded in the Swedish language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet that Vayrynen "lives in the past" and does not understand that a deep mistrust prevails between Russia and Europe.

The comments by Centre Party leader Sipila came after public disagreements between centrist experts and an apparent split on future foreign policy.

Another centrist candidate, former Finnish diplomat Alpo Rusi criticized strongly the suggestion by Vayrynen that the Crimea should become an autonomous area under Russia. Vayrynen had given the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States as an example to follow.

With the Finnish parliamentary elections two weeks away, the Centre Party is leading all major polls with a support of around 25 percent. The National Coalition Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Finns Party each enjoy around 15-16 percent, all competing for the number two position.

The line of former Finnish President Paasikivi believed that, as long as Finland was not a threat to the former USSR, Finland could remain a western democracy.

Paasikivi held the view that the interest of Moscow towards Finland was strategic and that without any threat from Finland the former USSR would accept a western style Finland as its next door neighbour.

Last week senior US analyst Zbigniew Brzezinski said in an interview that Ukraine should choose to be nonaligned "in the way Finland is". Brzezinski was a presidential adviser during the Carter administration in the 1970s. Endit