Finnish president says possible defence cooperation with U.S. of general nature

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Saturday there was no drama in the plan for a defence cooperation agreement with the United States.

Niinisto made the remarks following a statement earlier in the day by Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini that he endorsed the plan for such a bilateral agreement and he hoped the talks with the United States would end up with a "good agreement".

The Finnish intention to enter a defence agreement with the United States was reported earlier as Defence Minister Jussi Niinisto signed a comparable agreement with Britain in July.

Niinisto told broadcaster Yle in Rio de Janeiro that "these are fairly technical agreements" and they are "after all of relatively general nature."

Chairman of the Finnish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Antti Kaikkonen also commented on the Foreign Minister's statement. He said it would resemble the agreement between Sweden and the United States.

Kaikkonen said it would involve cooperation in defence material and exchange of information. The agreement would not mean an actual defence alliance, Kaikkonen underlined. Endit