Finland, NATO’s newest member, will sign a defense pact with the United States

By JARI TANNER
Associated Press

HELSINKI (AP) — NATO’s newest member and Russia’s neighbor Finland is to sign a bilateral defense cooperation agreement next week with the United States in a deal that allows Washington to send troops into the Nordic country and to store weapons and equipment there.  Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told a news conference in Helsinki on Thursday that the defense minister will sign the so called Defense Cooperation Agreement, or DCA, in Washington on Monday, Dec. 18. The pact must still be approved by Finnish lawmakers. Häkkänen said it was “very significant for Finland’s defense and security,” stressing that the deal is judicially binding on both sides.