The chair of Nato's military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said that, as things look now, Finland will join the Nato group under Joint Force Command Norfolk, based in the US.
Bauer said that the decision will be made in late 2024 or early 2025. He made the statement while observing Northern Forest 24 exercises in northern Finland on Wednesday with Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP).
Häkkänen said that it is "very likely" that Finland will come under the Norfolk command.
"Until decisions are made, nothing is certain, but the direction is clear," Häkkänen said on Wednesday at the Rovajärvi artillery practice range in Finnish Lapland.
A day earlier, President Alexander Stubb said during a visit to Estonia Stubb said that Finland wants to be in the Norfolk group.
All 5 Nordics together?
For now, Finland is under the Brunssum headquarters in the Netherlands, Bauer’s home country. So are Sweden, Denmark, the three Baltic states and others.
Meanwhile fellow Nordic countries Iceland and Norway are in the Norfolk group.
Finland joined Nato in April 2023, followed by Sweden this past March. The other three Nordic countries joined when the alliance was formed in 1949.
Nato set up Joint Force Command Norfolk in 2018 in response to "a resurgent Russia".
Based in Virginia, some 300km south of Washington, DC, it is the only operational-level Nato command based in the US. Earlier this year, US Navy Vice Admiral Douglas G. Perry took over as its commander.
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