HELSINKI - The Finnish Ministry of Defense was very surprised to learn about comments by Estonian Minister of the Interior Mart Helme regarding NATO and including Helsinki in Estonia's new defense plan as Finland is not participating in creating a plan B for the Alliance.
"I understand that this is Estonia's plan; nobody has contacted us and we do not have any involvement in it," Secretary General of Finland's Ministry of Defense Janne Kuusela told the daily Iltaleht.
Commenting on Helme's words claiming that a plan B is being prepared in case the collective defense of NATO should fail, Kuusela said that this is the first time he had heard of it and he could not explain what Helme might have meant by saying that Finland is a part of this alleged plan.
"Perhaps he thought that there was a serious crisis in northern Europe, affecting both Finland and Estonia," he suggested.
Kuusela noted that presently the Finnish and Estonian defense forces do not have a shared defense strategy.
"Finland has its plans and Estonia its own that are related to NATO's common defense strategy," he added.
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