Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has convened a meeting of leaders of political parties and parliamentary factions to discuss the country’s potential role in providing security guarantees for Ukraine as part of the Coalition of the Willing.

Source: Finnish media outlet Yle, citing its sources and reported by European Pravda

Details: Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has scheduled the meeting for Tuesday afternoon to consider the outcomes of the recent Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris and possible ways Finland could take part in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.

President Alexander Stubb, who has represented Finland at the coalition’s meetings, said following the Paris talks that the country would join the security guarantees for Ukraine in one form or another but provided no further detail.

Orpo has repeatedly underlined that Finland’s armed forces should focus first and foremost on safeguarding NATO’s external border, which since accession now extends for roughly 1,300 kilometres along Finland’s eastern border with Russia.

Public debate has indicated that Finland’s role could involve training Ukrainian troops or offering auxiliary forms of support.

Opposition parties have argued that Finland’s role must be subject to agreement of all political forces before any commitments are made consistent with the country’s established practice of consensus on foreign and security affairs.

The latest Coalition of the Willing meeting brought together representatives from more than 30 countries across Europe and beyond. Six EU leaders, the leadership of the European Union and Ukraine’s president attended in person, while others joined via video conference.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 35 leaders were prepared to put forward a political proposal to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, with 26 countries signalling readiness either to send troops or to provide specific means to support the guarantee mechanism.

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