Finland Flexes Military Muscles alongside US Troops
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Military exercises involving US troops begin in western Finland on Monday, amid controversy that has surrounded the Northern European country’s involvement with NATO for years, local media said.
The drills near the Finnish village of Niinisalo involve 2,300 Finnish and 185 US soldiers, as well as hundreds of pieces of military hardware, among them 20 Stryker armored vehicles, Finland’s public broadcaster Yle reported.
Lt. Col. Pekka Purtonen, who oversees the exercise, told the broadcaster that the drills merely offered both militaries a chance to learn from each other. He also excluded the presence of NATO soldiers on Finnish streets.
"The timetable for the maneuvers is very tight. In practical terms, the soldiers will hardly leave the exercise area and they won't have any free time," Purtonen told Yle.
The exercises stirred a great deal of controversy in Finland, which has been maintaining its neutrality despite increasing NATO pressure and claims of a threat from the east, Sputnik reported.
A poll commissioned by the Finnish government found last week that 55 percent of Finns opposed joining NATO, while only 22 percent approved it.
