Häkkänen told a press conference that the country’s legislative ban on nukes, dating back to 1980, was no longer relevant in the current geopolitical context. “The legislation does not meet the needs that Finland has as a NATO member,” Häkkänen said, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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Finland became a NATO member following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The country shares more than 1,000 kilometers of border with Russia, and has been accelerating and revamping its defense plans.
Häkkänen said nuclear weapons would be allowed to be transported onto Finnish territory if national defense needs required it, Finnish media reported. The minister declined to provide specific scenarios, but ruled out the possible deployment of nuclear warheads on Finnish soil.Finland is a signatory to the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Within Europe, France and the United Kingdom possess their own nuclear weapons, while the United States stores nuclear warheads in several NATO countries including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced plans to increase his country’s nuclear arsenal and to cooperate more closely with European partners, including the potential temporary deployment of French nuclear-capable fighters abroad.
