Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07HELSINKI140
2007-03-01 05:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Helsinki
Cable title:
FINNISH RESPONSE - DEMARCHE: U.S. CONCERNS ABOUT
how-toVZCZCXYZ0009 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHHE #0140 0600541 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 010541Z MAR 07 FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3024 INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0114 RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 0035 RUEHSL/AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA 0060 RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5500 RUEHUP/AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 0053 RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0018 RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0383 RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 4065 RUEHDL/AMEMBASSY DUBLIN 0067 RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0090 RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0106 RUEHLJ/AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 0052 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0192 RUEHLE/AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG 0410 RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 1498 RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 4684 RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0707 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0110 RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE 0978 RUEHRK/AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK 0288 RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 0848 RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0176 RUEHVJZ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0003 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0369 RUEHSF/AMEMBASSY SOFIA 0406 RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 8617 RUEHTL/AMEMBASSY TALLINN 4161 RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 1381 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0355 RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 4666 RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 3165 RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 1856 RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 0935 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0376 RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000140
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2017
TAGS: PARM PREL MOPS NATO NO FI
SUBJECT: FINNISH RESPONSE - DEMARCHE: U.S. CONCERNS ABOUT
OSLO CLUSTER MUNITIONS MEETING
REF: SECSTATE 20863
Classified By: POLCHIEF GREGORY THOME FOR REASONS 1.4 (A),(B),AND (D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000140
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2017
TAGS: PARM PREL MOPS NATO NO FI
SUBJECT: FINNISH RESPONSE - DEMARCHE: U.S. CONCERNS ABOUT
OSLO CLUSTER MUNITIONS MEETING
REF: SECSTATE 20863
Classified By: POLCHIEF GREGORY THOME FOR REASONS 1.4 (A),(B),AND (D)
¶1. (SBU) PolChief shared the substance of subject demarche
Feb. 27 with Laura Kansikas-Debraise, Office Director of
the Unit for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-
Proliferation. Kansikas-Debraise expressed appreciation
for the US position and re-emphasized 1) that Finland
considers cluster munitions (CM) to be a viable part of its
arsenal for national defense; 2) that the GOF agrees with
the US that the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW)
meetings remain the appropriate fora for discussion of
humanitarian and other issues related to CM; and 3) that
Finland would not support any legally binding instruments
prohibiting the use of CM.
¶2. (C) COMMENT: Cluster munitions have become a sensitive
topic in Finland in recent days, thanks to somewhat
sensationalist press reports alleging that Finland intends
to make a significant military acquisition of these
weapons. In response to international pressure, Finland is
currently phasing out its once-extensive use of landmines
to protect its long border with Russia. As part of a
program to bolster its land-based defensive capabilities in
the face of the pending mine phase-out, the GOF has
explored the idea of acquiring additional CM. GOF
discussions regarding the potential acquisition have not
been held in secret and have been open to public scrutiny,
Kansikas-Debraise explained, but for more than 18 months
the issue never attracted any attention. However, in
recent weeks CM have become a focus of the Nordic press --
both as a result of the Feb. 22-23 Olso conference and
because of the bad international press generated by
Israel's use of CM in Lebanon in August. The result in
Finland has been accusations that the GOF is now
substituting one internationally reviled weapon with
another. Nevertheless, the GOF will likely move forward to
acquire additional CM.
WARE