(VOVWORLD) - Finland will host a new land command unit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance, Minister of Defense Antti Hakkanen told reporters on Friday following a meeting of the alliance in Brussels.
 Ground troops during a NATO's military exercise in Korzeniewo in the Northern region of Poland on March 4th, 2024 (Photo: PAP/VNA) |
Hakkanen said the Finnish NATO command will have as a task to direct land warfare operations in northern Europe.
In NATO's new command structure, all Nordic countries would fall under the US-based Joint Force Command Norfolk, which is oriented to the North Atlantic defense, instead of new members Finland and Sweden remaining under NATO's east-oriented Brunssum command in the Netherlands, the defense minister added.
Finland officially joined NATO on April 4, 2023, becoming its 31st member.