Finland, US complete talks on defence agreement

Helsinki, Nov 1 (IANS) Finland and the US have wrapped up final talks on a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), the Foreign Ministry in Helsinki announced.

The agreement will be published until its passing by the Finnish parliament, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying late Tuesday.

According to Finnish media, parliamentary passing is not expected before the end of 2023.

The Finnish parliamentary constitutional committee will decide whether the agreement can be passed by a simple majority or by a two-thirds majority.

The agreement will define the rights and duties of US forces when training or otherwise stationed in Finland, while complementing Finland's NATO membership, Finnish commentators have said.

According to Finnish media, there would be no actual US bases in Finland, but American forces could be present in the country in some form.

Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) on Monday reported that US troops would be granted access to some undisclosed garrisons and military bases, and exclusive access to sites for storing vehicles, weapons and other materials required to conduct military exercises in Finland.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that the results of the final talks will now be examined "at the political level".

He said the DCA agreement is "crucial to Finland and other Nordics".