Finnish opposition party calls extension of defence deal with Israel a “historic shame”

Part of the Finnish opposition has strongly criticised the extension of a defence cooperation memorandum with Israel, which was reportedly renewed “secretly” until 2034, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

Channel 12, citing the Israeli financial newspaper Globes and Finnish media reports, said Sofia Virta, leader of the opposition Green League party, described the Finnish government’s policy on the issue as a “historic shame”.

Virta criticised the government’s move to deepen ties with Israel instead of putting more pressure on it over the ongoing war in the region, referring to the conflict with Iran, according to the report.

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Meanwhile, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen defended the agreement, saying the recently extended deal was part of dozens of defence cooperation agreements Finland has signed with other countries. He said it was one of around 40 similar agreements, according to Channel 12.

The channel, citing Finnish public broadcaster Yle, reported that the original memorandum of understanding between Finland and Israel was signed in 2013. The Finnish government proposed extending it until 2034 in early 2024, and the extension was recently carried out “secretly” for that period, although the exact date of the renewal was not disclosed.

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