HELSINKI: Finland will on Monday Dec. 18 sign a defence cooperation agreement with the United States that will bring US soldiers and military material to aid in the Nordic nation’s defence, the Finnish government said on Thursday.

The defence cooperation agreement will deepen our defence cooperation with the United States and can be vital in a case of crisis, Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told reporters.

Russia’s Nordic neighbour Finland became the NATO military alliance’s newest member earlier this year in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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The agreement, that will serve as a rulebook for U.S military presence in Finland, lists 15 facilities and areas to which the U.S. military will have unimpeded access and where it can also store military equipment and ammunition, ministry officials said ahead of the announcement.

Neighbouring Sweden, which has also asked to join NATO but has been left waiting due to resistance from existing members Turkey and Hungary, signed a similar agreement with the U.S. last week, giving it access to 17 areas including four air bases, one harbour and five military camps.