Pevkur to new Finnish Minister of Defence: Finland’s accession to NATO signals the start of a new era

Yesterday in Tallinn meeting with Finnish Defence Minister Mikko Savola, Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur discussed the accession of Finland to NATO, sending additional military aid to Ukraine, and bilateral defence cooperation.

"We are living in a historic moment - the accession of Finland to NATO will bring a new era, not only for the Baltic Sea region but also for our bilateral defence cooperation. The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO will significantly increase the security of our region. At the same time, it is not a magic wand that will solve all of the security challenges facing our region. In other words, this is just the beginning, and although our defence cooperation with Finland has already been strong, it will move to the next level following the accession of our northern neighbours to NATO," said Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.

The defence ministers also discussed sending additional assistance to Ukraine. The Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which includes Estonia and Finland, will meet this Friday in Ramstein, Germany. "Estonia and Finland are both preparing a new aid package, and I was pleased to hear that we are in agreement on helping Ukraine - the next assistance package to Ukraine must be as strong as possible and provide them with the kind of help they currently need the most," added Minister of Defence Pevkur.

Finland has supported Ukraine with 11 aid packages worth EUR 300 million, of which the total value of military aid has been EUR 190 million. The recovery value of the military aid provided by Estonia is over EUR 257 million.

In addition, the ministers of defence discussed bilateral possibilities for cooperation in the defence industry and within the structure of the division that is being established in Estonia.

Minister Mikko Savola took office on 5 January of this year. He was the chairman of the Estonian-Finnish Friendship Group in the Finnish Parliament and is a member of the Centre Party of Finland.

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Photos: Ministry of Defence | Flickr