Finland, which only in April became a member of NATO, is negotiating a bilateral agreement with the United States on the deployment of an American military base in the country.. The negotiations on the drafting of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between Finland and the United States are reported by the Helsingin Sanomat publication, citing Mikael Antella, a representative of the Finnish Foreign Ministry participating in the negotiations..

According to Antell, the presence of the United States will strengthen the deterrence and defense capabilities of Finland through the " The main threat addressed by these measures is the potential use of military force by Russia..

“Most importantly, the agreement ensures seamless cooperation with the United States in all security situations, as well as in the shortest possible time,” Antell says, adding that a bilateral agreement with the Americans “will complement NATO membership.”.

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Negotiations between the United States and Finland on the terms of the DCA agreement are expected to last until 2024, after which the draft agreement will be considered by the Finnish Parliament. Answering the question of what the States could get in Finland, Antell noted that these could be “military areas and garrisons,” but specific objects have not yet been discussed..

“It’s too early to speculate on this, but theoretically it could be, for example, an F-35 fighter maintenance base.. In practice, this is what everyone together considers necessary, ”says a representative of the Finnish Foreign Ministry.

In response to Finland's entry into NATO, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko said that Russia will strengthen its military potential in its western and northwestern regions. After joining NATO, the Finnish border service began to build a fence on the border with the Russian Federation. It should close 200 km of the 1300 km of the common border with Russia.

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On April 13, Finland held the first joint exercises with NATO already in the status of a member of the Alliance. These were the exercises of the Finnish coastal fleet and NATO ships.

Bloomberg, citing its own sources, called it " At the same time, the authorities of the city of Kauguva, located 350 km from the border with the Russian Federation, offered NATO to create the first Alliance base in the country on their territory..