The United Kingdom and Finland will form a strategic partnership on Monday to bolster ties and counter Russia's perceived aggression in Europe, the UK's Foreign Office has revealed.
The agreement will see the two nations cooperating more intensely to combat Russian misinformation, cyberattacks, and to aid in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The Foreign Affairs Ministers of the UK and Finland, David Cameron and Elina Valtonen, respectively, will endorse the agreement in London later today.
In a joint statement, both nations will identify Russia – which shares a 1,300-kilometre border with Finland – as "the most imminent and direct threat to European peace and stability." The two countries aim to "tackle global security threats together and support Ukraine until the war is won," they outlined.
In recent months, both London and Helsinki have signed "security agreements" with Ukraine, vowing to provide ongoing military and financial support to Kyiv.
"As we unite to support Ukraine, providing military aid and training, we are clear that Russian aggression, following the war it initiated, will not be tolerated," David Cameron said. "This strategic partnership, rooted in shared values, will lead the UK and Finland to intensify cooperation to bolster European security and seize new opportunities."
The UK's Foreign Affairs Minister David Cameron. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The collaboration will cover wider areas including science, technology, energy, and combatting irregular immigration.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the relationship between Finland and Russia has significantly deteriorated. Discarding decades of military non-alignment, the Nordic country joined NATO in April 2023, sparking Moscow's outrage.
