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Sauli Niinistö

President Niinistö: Finland ready to answer French call for help

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö says that Finland is ready to help France by sending more troops to a peacekeeping operation in Mali. France had appealed to EU countries for help after the terror attacks which struck Paris last month.

Presidentti Sauli Niinistö ilmoitti, että Suomi vastaa Ranskan avunpyyntöön vahvistamalla osallistumista YK:n Mali-operaatiossa.
Presidentti Sauli Niinistö ilmoitti, että Suomi vastaa Ranskan avunpyyntöön vahvistamalla osallistumista YK:n Mali-operaatiossa. Image: Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva

Finland’s president Sauli Niinistö says the country is ready to expand a peacekeeping operation in Mali. The move would be in response to France’s request for help in the wake of last month’s terror attacks in Paris.

"We are sending ten people on an expert and observation mission," said Niinistö. "After that we can see if we could do something more in Mali."

France is engaged in ongoing anti-terror operations in Mali. Niinistö also said that Finland is ready to extend its training operation with Kurdish forces in Irbil, Iraq, where some 50 Finnish soldiers are training Peshmerga forces.

President Niinistö made the comments on Friday after a meeting of the ministerial Foreign and Security policy committee.

France’s appeal to EU countries after the Paris was the first time an EU state had asked for assistance due to security concerns.