DULUTH 鈥� It was an overflow crowd for the keynote panel on Finland, the United States and European and American Security at last week's 40th annual FinnFest.
FinnFest attendees were aware that and , a retired four-star general with the U.S. Air Force and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO (2013-2016), were speakers on the panel and retired U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson was the moderator.
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They did not know that the 鈥渕ember of United States Congress鈥� on the panel was U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar until she walked onto the stage with the other panelists.
The main focus of the panel was what meant for European and American security in relation to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. The panel took place July 28 in the Lake Superior Ballroom at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
FinnFest is an annual gathering of Finnish Americans and others interested in Finnish culture and heritage. It includes educational workshops on culture and history, musical performances, Finnish film presentations and the Tori marketplace and pop-up cafe featuring Finnish food.
Before becoming the Finnish ambassador to the U.S., Hautala was the Finnish ambassador to Russia from 2016-2020.
鈥淗is insight will not only be helpful for you today, but also helped all the Nordic countries and our country as we debated and dealt with the important issue of Finland and Sweden getting into NATO,鈥� Klobuchar, D-Minn., said.
Sweden has not yet entered NATO, but Klobuchar said a vote is expected to take place this fall.
Breedlove spent much of his career in Europe and said he worked to forward NATO and Finland.
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鈥淚 first stood on the inner-German border in 1983 as Captain Breedlove of the U.S. Army,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 served thereafter seven times in Europe, in the Air Forces of this nation and also all the nations of NATO as ... Supreme Commander. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see this great country joining our Alliance, and we鈥檝e been growing stronger together.鈥�
Klobuchar was introduced by Wilson as a bipartisan, results-oriented leader in Congress for the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty, the response to Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and many other foreign security and domestic issues.
Klobuchar informed the crowd that she woke up in Washington, D.C., that morning after voting the night of July 27 on the defense bill, which passed with bipartisan support in an 86-11 vote. The bill included funding for NATO and Ukraine.
Noting she had visited Ukraine in August 2022 and witnessed the 鈥渋ncredible resolve in the Ukrainian people,鈥� Klobuchar said, 鈥淪o much of (that resolve) was the leadership of our country and President Biden and both Democrats and Republicans, which is very key to all of this, standing together in Washington to this day, with that vote last night, and saying that we stand with democracies, we stand with Ukraine, and part of this was the importance of Finland and Sweden being part of NATO.鈥�
Klobuchar also recalled the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing the world as he stood on the streets of Kiev on the night of the Russian invasion, saying three simple words, 鈥淲e are here.鈥�
鈥淲hat you now have seen from America, from Finland, from our NATO allies, is a call that I also think (Russian President) Vladmir Putin did not expect,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are here, too, and we are here with democracy.鈥�
Hautala noted that he spent part of the day July 27 with the Ukrainian community in the Twin Cities, some of whom were refugees arriving in the U.S. last year after the invasion.
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鈥淭he basic message I got from them, in those hours I spent with them, was an undefeated spirit to not only survive but also succeed and build a better Ukraine,鈥� he said, noting a special connection between Finland and Ukraine based on their history with Russia. 鈥淲e do realize what it means when Russia invades your country illegally, tries to subjugate you, tries to take your territories and there鈥檚 horrible violence involved.鈥�
Finland鈥檚 history with Russian invasion includes the Winter War, which lasted from November 1939 to March 1940, with Finland losing 800 men a day during the peak of the fighting, according to Hautala. Finland鈥檚 population at the time was 4 million people.
鈥淭his is something that brings, mentally, the Finns and the Ukrainians together,鈥� Hautala said. 鈥淭hey also seek strength from our story. They see that we survived, we managed to build a new Finland, and, after all those decades, we are part of NATO. But, not less meaningful, we are six times in a row the happiest nation on Earth.鈥�
Finland鈥檚 accession to NATO
Hautala explained there were two triggers that drove Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after decades of independence from a military alliance, the first of which was Putin鈥檚 demands to the U.S. in early December of 2021 that NATO not allow any additional countries to join the alliance.
鈥淲e concluded that, if this kind of an arrangement becomes a fact, it would permanently mean that we are left in a gray zone with the Russians, waiting on what their subsequent design could be,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat was impossible for us really to accept, because our principle has always been that we may join and we may apply, and Russians were trying to take that possibility away from us.鈥�
While Finland and the U.S. have been strong partners for about three decades and Finland has worked closely with the alliance for about 20 years, according to Hautala, it was the 鈥渂rutal attack鈥� on Ukraine that finally drove Finland and Sweden to apply for "accession," the formal process to become a party to the treaty and a NATO member.
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鈥�(Finnish) President (Sauli) Niinisto said publicly the very morning of the attack that now the masks are off, we can only see the cold face of war,鈥� Hautala said, noting it was a wakeup call for Finland鈥檚 population that it had to join the alliance soon.
鈥淎s the General knows, what happened with Ukraine kind of woke people up, not only from the pandemic malaise, but also just from this long slumber of not realizing how valuable it was to keep our friends close,鈥� Klobuchar said.
The accession of Finland, and soon, Sweden is 鈥渂ringing all the Nordics for the first time in history ... to the same alliance,鈥� Hautala said. 鈥淭his will have profound meaning, not only for Finland, but for all the Nordics, including NATO and defense of northern Europe 鈥� NATO鈥檚 northern flank.鈥�
The U.S. Senate voted 95-1 to allow Finland to join, and Klobuchar told the story of receiving a thank-you note from President Niinisto for her speech on the Senate floor. She cast her vote following the only senator who voted no.
鈥淲hat I said that day is still true today, that Finland is a stellar example of a country that looks beyond its borders, it has a commitment to peace and stability, it鈥檚 an economic powerhouse, it has a sophisticated reserve force of 900,000 strong,鈥� she said, noting that she also addressed her 鈥渘o vote鈥� colleague, saying, 鈥淧erhaps the senator from Missouri has never visited the country of Finland. Perhaps he is not aware of all the technical advances and all the prowess that they would bring to NATO.鈥�
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