Finland has officially joined a French initiative to develop European nuclear deterrence, the republic's Ministry of Defence said, according to RIA Novosti, which cited a translation of a publication on the defence ministry's website, as reported by infohub.kz.
Helsinki made the decision two months after the country's parliament approved amendments lifting a ban on the import, manufacture, storage and use of nuclear weapons.
The move concerns a doctrine France presented in early March: Paris intends to increase the number of nuclear warheads, while other European states will be able to take part in joint exercises. At the time, the idea was supported by the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark.
"It (the initiative — ed.) differs from NATO nuclear deterrence. Participating countries will not assume obligations such as collective defence. Moreover, France is not asking them to contribute to costs," Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen was quoted as saying.
President Alexander Stubb says Finland will not deploy weapons of mass destruction on its territory in peacetime.
It was previously reported that Finland's parliament approved the lifting of a ban on the import of nuclear explosives. The changes are linked to defence issues and cooperation within NATO.