Häkkänen defends Israel visit as vital to Finland’s security

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said his recent visit to Israel was intended solely to secure supplies of defence equipment critical to Finland’s security, Yle reported. He made the case again on Yle’s A-studio programme.

Häkkänen said Finland was working with European countries and partners including the United States, Israel and South Korea to prevent delivery delays from affecting the country, which borders Russia. He said the wars in Iran and Ukraine had caused significant delays in defence industry deliveries worldwide.

Finland signed an agreement with Israel in November 2023 to acquire the David’s Sling air defence system. The decision was made by Sanna Marin’s government shortly before the war in Gaza. Häkkänen said last week that his ministerial visit was necessary to ensure the deal proceeded smoothly. On Monday, he also described defence cooperation with Israel as vital to Finland in an article published on the Defence Ministry’s website.

Häkkänen’s visit two weeks ago, including a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, and disagreements within Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government over Finland’s Middle East policy have drawn criticism from the opposition. On Tuesday, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) moved a no-confidence motion against both the government and Häkkänen.

SDP parliamentary group leader Tytti Tuppurainen said her party’s dissatisfaction was primarily with the government’s Middle East policy. She questioned whether the visit was necessary, saying the opposition had not been told whether Finland’s foreign policy leadership as a whole supported it or considered it essential. Tuppurainen said a minister who had a Palestinian counterpart could also have made the visit. She questioned the signal Finland sent by sending its defence minister only to Israel to meet Katz, who had made what she called highly objectionable statements, including about the forced displacement of Palestinians, a month before Israeli elections.

Häkkänen rejected the suggestion that another minister should have taken on the defence minister’s duties, calling it “an entirely absurd claim” and asking whether the alternative would have been the culture minister.