Western countries, including the #UnitedStates, shouldn’t be entirely opposed to the idea of sending #troops to Ukraine if conditions there worsen, said Finnish Foreign Minister #ElinaValtonen.
“It’s important that we not rule everything out for the long term, because we never know how serious the situation becomes. But the Finnish position is clear: We are not right now sending any #troops & not willing to discuss that,” #Valtonen said
#ElinaValtonen’s remark comes a day after French Pres #Macron stood by his refusal to rule out sending troops to #Ukraine, which has caused a rift w/the #UnitedStates & #EU leaders who staunchly oppose the potential move.
#Finland appeared closed off to the idea only a few weeks ago. After meeting w/ #Macron during a summit of #EU leaders in late Feb, then-Finnish President Sauli #Niinistö said “there was a widely shared perception that there would be no #military presence” — meaning no deployment of Western soldiers to Kyiv. He added, “this was also Finland’s position.”
Curious what happens if France or Finland deploys troops to Ukraine, and Russia kills them. Would that trigger an automatic Article 5 response from NATO?
@ralfmaximus my guess is this happens only after Russia attacks a NATO member. Finland only joined this year mainly because they share an expansive border with Russia & rightly are concerned by Putin’s insane warmongering.