This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HELSINKI 001420 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR A/S JONES AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT GRENCIK 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2014 
TAGS: PREL MARR MCAP PTER IZ AF RS CH FI EUN
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY JONES VISIT TO 
HELSINKI 
 
REF: A. HELSINKI 1221 
 
     ¶B. HELSINKI 1360 
     ¶C. HELSINKI 1281 
     ¶D. HELSINKI 1288 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Earle I. Mack for reasons 1.5(B) and (D) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Your visit to Helsinki, coming just days after the 
U.S. election, will be an excellent opportunity to review our 
bilateral and multilateral agenda with Finnish leaders, and 
to stress the value of our close relationship with Finland 
and Europe.   Finnish President Halonen has sent a telegram 
to the White House offering President Bush her "heartfelt 
congratulations" on his re-election and expressing her 
confidence that the "excellent cooperation" between the two 
presidents will continue in the future.  In a similar message 
PM Vanhanen stressed the "great responsibility and worldwide 
trust" connected with the U.S. Presidency; in earlier 
comments he had underlined the importance of the 
trans-Atlantic partnership in facing issues of global 
concern. 
 
¶2. (C) The Finns will use the opportunity to ask what changes 
in U.S. foreign policy may be in the wings.  They will also 
want to hear your assessment of events in Russia after 
Beslan.  They will expect you to ask about their new White 
Paper on foreign and security policy, which reaffirms 
Finland,s nonalignment but keeps open the NATO option, 
supports the EU's rapid reaction force, and commits the GoF 
to signing the Ottawa Convention by 2012.  We recommend you 
thank the Finns for their support for reconstruction in Iraq 
(including a commitment of one million euros for the UN 
protection force), and for their multiple contributions in 
Afghanistan.  End Summary. 
 
Assessing the Election 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On November 3, before the result of the U.S. 
Presidential election was known, Finnish President Halonen, 
PM Vanhanen, and Speaker of Parliament Lipponen all said they 
did not expect the outcome of the election to affect 
bilateral relations, which Halonen termed "stable and good." 
Halonen (who was attending an EU meeting in Brussels, and may 
have felt the need to speak guardedly) added, however, that 
if President Bush were returned to office she hoped the 
Administration would re-visit its Iraq policy.  PM Vanhanen 
spoke in broader terms: "Issues such as worldwide 
cooperation, general stability, terrorism, and global 
development continue to feature on the agenda ... and here a 
good partnership between Europe and the United States is 
needed."  On November 4, Halonen and Vanhanen both sent 
congratulatory telegrams to the White House.  Halonen offered 
President Bush her "warm greeting and ... heartfelt 
congratulations," as well as "my anticipation that our 
excellent cooperation will continue in the future."  In his 
message PM Vanhanen stressed the "great responsibility and 
worldwide trust" connected with the U.S. Presidency.  An 
editorial in the "Helsingin Sanomat," Finland's leading 
daily, argued that "it takes two to build bridges, and 
Europeans would be wise to do their part.  The result of a 
democratic election has to be respected.  Creating more 
conflicts across the Atlantic does not on this side of the 
ocean serve anybody's true interests." 
 
¶4. (C) The Finns, with their strong preference for 
multilateral action and their commitment to the 
trans-Atlantic relationship, will want to know if any gesture 
to Europe will be forthcoming from a second Bush 
administration.  FM Tuomioja may also express to you the hope 
that the second administration will adopt a more 
"multilateralist" strategy during its second term (ignoring 
the fact that the first administration spent months working 
for unity in the UNSC before Operation Iraqi Freedom).  The 
PM and FM may ask whether Russian ratification of the Kyoto 
Protocol will make a difference to the USG, or whether any 
new initiatives can be expected in the arms control area. 
 
Iraq 
---- 
 
¶5. (C) The GoF -- FM Tuomioja in particular -- was critical 
of OIF, which began only days after the Finnish general 
election in March 2003.  Then, in the weeks that followed, 
new Center Party PM Anneli Jaatteenmaki was forced out of 
office over allegations that she had released classified MFA 
documents regarding conversations with the U.S. on Iraq. 
Center's Matti Vanhanen took over as PM, and since then has 
sought to calm the domestic political waters roiled by 
"Iraq-Gate."  In March 2004, two Finnish businessmen visiting 
Baghdad as part of an exploratory trade delegation were 
killed, further decreasing GoF interest in Finns 
participating in any mission inside Iraq for the foreseeable 
future. 
 
¶6. (C) Nevertheless, the GoF has sought and found ways to 
assist in Iraqi reconstruction.  They made an early 
commitment of one million euros to help fund the UN 
Protection Force (reiterated by President Halonen in her UNGA 
speech); the Finns have provided ten instructors for the 
police academy in Amman; and they are prominent as one of the 
small donors (five million euros) to the IRFFI.  In your 
conversations with the PM and FM, they will be interested in 
your assessment of how reconstruction in Iraq is proceeding, 
including the prospects for free and fair elections. 
 
Afghanistan 
----------- 
 
¶7. (C) Finland has been a solid partner in Afghanistan. 
Afghanistan is now one of the largest recipients of Finnish 
development assistance (10 million euros this year), and 
approximately 70 Finnish troops are serving under ISAF 
auspices, including CIMIC troops in Kabul and twenty soldiers 
with the UK/Finnish/Norwegian PRT in the north.  Several 
Finnish politicians have visited Afghanistan, including the 
Parliamentary Human Rights caucus.  We recommend you thank 
the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for Finland's early 
contributions to both Iraq and Afghanistan. 
 
Russia 
------ 
 
¶8. (C) The stability of political and commercial relations 
with Russia -- and therefore the stability of Russia itself 
-- will always be of vital importance to the Finns.  In 
recent conversations, they have said that while day-to-day 
interactions with the Russians continue on track, Finns are 
concerned about long-term trends.  FM Tuomioja told the 
Ambassador September 15 that "the signs are less encouraging 
than they have been for some time." (Ref A) It is 
understandable that "the appalling events in Beslan have 
affected Russia seriously," said the FM; "we only hope they 
draw the right conclusions."  He worries that Putin seems to 
be relying more and more on people who are not by inclination 
natural democrats.  Your Finnish interlocutors will be very 
interested to hear your own assessment, and likely will quiz 
you about the atmosphere you encountered in your most recent 
trip to Moscow. 
 
The White Paper 
--------------- 
 
¶9. (C) The GoF's long-awaited white paper on national 
security policy was completed and sent to Parliament for 
their review in September.  In it the government reaffirms 
Finland,s nonalignment, although "applying for membership in 
the Alliance will remain a possibility ... in the future." 
The White Paper has since been criticized by some of the 
nation's most committed trans-Atlanticists for being too 
timid in its treatment of Finland,s need for allies.  One 
commentator said the White Paper was "born old" in failing to 
note modern realities in Russia.  MP Liisa Jaakonsaari, the 
SDP's chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, criticized 
Finland,s foreign policy as lacking direction. 
 
¶10. (C) The White Paper probably represents the limits of the 
possible insofar as NATO membership is concerned, given that 
public opinion remains strongly against membership.  (One 
recent poll showed 80% opposed.)  Foreign Minister Tuomioja 
told us last year that he did not expect the NATO question to 
arise during this Parliamentary term (2003-2007).  But that 
does not change the reality of Finland's position.  The Finns 
see NATO as the foundation for trans-Atlantic security.  They 
have made NATO interoperability one of the guiding principles 
of their armed forces, they are strong supporters of PfP, and 
they welcomed the Baltic nations' entry into the Alliance. 
(MFA PolDir Lyra worried, though, that NATO planners were 
pressing the three new members too hard to shift capabilities 
away from territorial defense to crisis management.)  The 
White Paper does state that "Finland considers a strong 
trans-Atlantic relationship to be important for the security 
of Europe;" Finland will foster that relationship on a 
bilateral basis with the U.S., as well as through the EU and 
the PfP. 
 
¶11. (C) The White Paper restated that territorial defense is 
the fundamental mission of Finland,s armed forces, but 
commits the nation for the first time to providing combat 
troops to EU rapid reaction forces.  It mentions repeatedly 
the need to combat terrorism, but does not provide much 
information on how the GoF is organized to do that.  And in 
one of its most controversial decisions, it commits Finland 
to signing the Ottawa Convention by 2012, and destroying its 
anti-personnel landmines by 2016. 
 
The Finnish EU Presidency (July-December 2006) 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶12. (C) The Finns may be the last EU president under the old 
system, since the Constitution Treaty is scheduled to take 
effect during their tenure.  The Finns are acutely aware of 
this, and have already started preparations to make the most 
of the opportunity.  (We are told, for example, that one of 
the reasons for FM Tuomioja's surprise choice of Pilvi-Sisko 
Vierros-Villeneuve to succeed Markus Lyra as Political 
Director was her past experience in Brussels during 
Finland,s last presidency.)  The Finns have said that 
strengthening trans-Atlantic relations will be one of the 
themes of their presidency. 
 
China Arms Embargo 
------------------ 
 
¶13. (C) We have heard that there is a split within MFA 
between those (including Vierros-Villeneuve, currently 
Nonproliferation chief) who genuinely believe that the Code 
of Conduct can and should be made to function efficiently to 
stop the kinds of high-tech exports that the Chinese most 
want, and those in the human rights section, who agree with 
the U.S. that lifting the embargo would send the wrong 
signal.  The Embassy recommends that you stress to the FM 
that lifting the EU arms embargo sends the wrong message at 
the wrong time to China, and may give the Chinese Government 
the impression that it can act with impunity with regard to 
serious violations of human rights. 
 
¶14. (C) In conversations with the Ambassador reported in Refs 
C and D, MFA Under Secretary Laajava and Presidential Chief 
of Staff Kalela both agreed in principle with the reasoning 
behind the U.S. position.  The Ambassador asked whether a 
call from Secretary Powell to President Halonen would be 
useful, caveating the question by saying we would not want to 
embarrass either President Halonen or the Secretary by 
putting them in an awkward position.  Both Laajava and Kalela 
said that such a call might be useful, although neither could 
guarantee it would change Finland's position. 
 
War on Terror 
------------- 
 
¶15. (C) Finland is an ally in the fight against global 
terrorism, but Finns believe the possibility of an attack on 
Finnish soil remote.  FM Tuomioja in particular is concerned 
that civil liberties not be lost in the rush to investigate 
and prevent terrorist attacks.  For example, he has been 
critical of U.S. policy regarding the Guantanamo detainees 
and the Abu Ghraib scandal and may raise these with you. 
 
Trafficking-in-Persons 
---------------------- 
 
¶16. (U) Tuomioja may complain to you about Finland's Tier 2 
ranking.  We recommend that you thank the Finns for hosting 
the September OSCE/ODIHR conference on the rights of 
trafficking victims, and note the passage of new legislation 
making trafficking a separate legal offense -- but stress 
that a better record in prosecution and victim assistance is 
needed. 
 
The "Helsinki Process" 
---------------------- 
 
¶17. (SBU) Tuomioja is the co-chair (with the Tanzanian FM) of 
the Helsinki Group, the steering committee for the Helsinki 
Process that was launched in 2002 to promote a more just and 
equitable globalization process.  Tuomioja and President 
Halonen are interested in the negative effects of 
globalization and deeply committed to fostering a North-South 
dialogue aimed at ameliorating these effects.  To that end, 
the Helsinki Process sponsors regular conferences and 
seminars about global problem solving, the global economic 
agenda, and human security in all of its forms.  President 
Halonen's speech before the UNGA in September centered on 
globalization, its inherent inequities, and the urgent need 
for the developed and developing world to work together to 
redress these.  (On the same day Halonen suggested to the 
press in New York that an international tribunal be formed to 
determine the legality of OIF.)  For his part, the Foreign 
Minister's bilateral meetings in New York during the UNGA's 
opening week were all related to the Helsinki Process.  It is 
possible the Foreign Minister will raise this during your 
meeting.  You may wish to ask him about the Helsinki Group's 
upcoming report on globalization, due to be released in the 
spring of 2005. 
MACK