Foreign Ministry's press releases

Senior officials responsible for Barents cooperation in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and the EU will meet in Kuusamo, Finland, on 30–31 May. Ambassador Jari Vilén will lead the discussion on the next steps during Finland’s Presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC).

In line with the Government Programme, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will continue to expand and strengthen its network of missions. The Finnish Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, which was closed in 2012 due to the reduction of the network of missions, will be reopened in the autumn. Finland will also open a new Consulate General in Mumbai, India.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Washington DC on 25–27 May. He will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and speak with representatives of the US administration and Congress. In addition, Minister Haavisto will discuss Finland’s views on transatlantic security at an event held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which is a non-profit policy research organisation focusing on security policy.

Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov is visiting Finland on 24–25 May.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on 22–26 May. The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in February but, due to the difficult COVID-19 situation, it was postponed until May.

The 132nd Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will be held in Turin, Italy, on 19–20 May 2022. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be State Secretary Johanna Sumuvuori. The meeting will focus on reaffirming unwavering support to Ukraine and on debate on the future of the organisation.

The Ambassador of Finland and all Finnish citizens employed by the Finnish mission in Kyiv left Ukraine for security reasons in February, when Russia started its military aggression against Ukraine. The security situation in Kyiv has now improved, and Finland’s Ambassador to Ukraine Päivi Laine has returned to her post in Kyiv.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation are hosting a delegation from Kosovo on May 19-20 in Helsinki, Finland.

On Tuesday 17 May 2022, the President of the Republic of Finland decided, on the proposal of the Government, to notify the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of Finland’s interest to engage in talks on accession to NATO and appointed a delegation to Finland’s accession talks to be held with NATO and its member countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation notified Ambassador of Finland Antti Helanterä of their decision on 17 May. Russia has announced corresponding measures also regarding several countries that have expelled Russian diplomats.