Finland to lift full ban on hosting nuclear arms, government says
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Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Hakkanen said Finland - a NATO member and neighbour of Russia - will lift its long-standing ban on having nuclear arms on its territory.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Finland plans to lift its 1987 ban on nuclear weapons, allowing deployment on its territory during war. This aligns with NATO deterrence strategy.
- The decision stems from Finland joining NATO in 2023 after Russia's invasion, aiming to fully leverage alliance deterrence and defence.
- This aligns Finland with Nordic neighbours, who ban nukes in peacetime but not war. Other NATO allies are also deepening nuclear deterrence cooperation.
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HELSINKI - Finland plans to lift a long-standing ban on having nuclear arms on its territory, the government said on March 5, aligning with Nordic neighbours in a move that could open the door to deploying atomic bombs on Finnish soil during times of war.
Finland’s Nuclear Energy Act, passed in 1987, prohibits the import, manufacture, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives on its soil, seen by some Finns as a clause that would benefit only Russia if there ever was a war.
While Finland maintained neutrality during the Cold War era, the country in 2023 joined the NATO military alliance in response to nuclear-armed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine the preceding year.
“The amendment is necessary to enable Finland’s military defence as part of the alliance and to take full advantage of NATO’s deterrence and collective defence,” Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen told a press conference.
The proposed change will next go to Parliament where the right-wing coalition government holds a majority.
Neighbours Sweden, Denmark and Norway have long-standing policies against nuclear weapons on their territories in peacetime but do not have legislative bans during war.
NATO allies France and Germany announced plans on March 2 to deepen cooperation with European partners
Sweden’s doctrine is to station no permanent foreign troops or nuclear weapons on its soil in peacetime, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters last week, when asked about the possibility of his country hosting French nuclear arms.
“If we were to find ourselves in a completely different situation, that particular formulation would not apply,” Mr Kristersson said.
Finland shares a 1,340km border with Russia and in 2024 signed a defence pact with the US, allowing it to use 15 of Finland’s military facilities and zones. REUTERS
