The Defence Ministry’s preliminary plan proposes sending around 100 soldiers to northern Afghanistan in the autumn. Previously Finland has deployed about 100 soldiers there as part of the NATO-International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation. If additional troops are deployed, they would also operate under the ISAF.
Afghanistan plans to hold presidential elections at the end of the summer or in the autumn. The Finnish troops would arrive about one month before the elections. Afghanistan is also planning parliamentary elections next year.
Later this month NATO is to debate whether or not to send additional ISAF troops to Afghanistan to monitor the elections.