Monitoring group: Finland should be ‘cautious’ about NATO’s nuclear exercises

An independent monitoring group urges Finland to exercise caution in regard to NATO nuclear weapons exercises, reports the Finnish news agency (STT).

A fresh report recommends that Finland maintains its prohibitions on the importation, manufacturing, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives.

The Nuclear Weapons Monitoring Group (Finland), whose members include anti-nuclear weapons activists and military researchers, said on Wednesday that Finland should adopt a cautious approach towards Nato’s nuclear weapons exercises—including participation in such exercises.

The monitoring group has been assessing the role of nuclear weapons and the associated security risks for Finland as a Nato member.

The group recommended that Finland not join any nuclear attack exercises. In addition, the report’s authors also advised against allowing such exercises to take place in Finnish airspace.

As a Nato member, Finland should not abandon its long-standing goal of promoting nuclear disarmament, the group said.

The independent monitoring group’s members include SDP veteran, Erkki Tuomioja as well as the researchers from institutions such as Helsinki University’s Aleksanteri Institute as well as the National Defence University.