US embassy cable - 05HELSINKI1114

UNCLAS HELSINKI 001114 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, FI 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CONVERSATION WITH PRESIDENT HALONEN 
AND ADVISORS 
 
 
Farewell Call on President Halonen... 
-------------------------------------- 
 
1.  (C)  The Ambassador on Oct. 7 paid a farewell call on 
President Halonen.  Halonen began her remarks by pointedly 
telling the Ambassador "I am a friend of America."  She said 
that Finnish-American relations were strong, and that she 
looked forward to working together with the U.S. in the 
future on a broad range of shared goals.  The Ambassador said 
that he was pleased Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister 
Tuomioja would meet in early November.  Halonen agreed and 
expressed hope for a successful meeting.  Turning to 
hurricane Katrina, the Ambassador reiterated our appreciation 
for Finland's assistance.  Halonen said that she empathized 
with President Bush and the problems he faced with the relief 
effort;  she understood that most of the problems originated 
at the local level and likened it to problems with civil 
crisis management in the Nordic-Baltic region where local 
capabilities were still inadequate. 
 
2.  (C)  Halonen then addressed Finnish press coverage of her 
conversation with President Bush on the margins of the NATO 
Istanbul Summit in 2004. (Note:  Halonen straightened the 
President's tie during a group photo op, and a few Finnish 
journalists interpreted this as a sign of Halonen's 
'desperation' for interaction with the President).  Halonen 
said that the President had actually asked her to fix his 
tie, and that she had jokingly remarked that if she did so, 
it would spark a media row in Finland.  As it turned out, the 
media here did indeed highlight this interaction.  The 
Ambassador said that he was pleased also that Halonen met the 
President at the UNGA (and subsequently reiterated this 
during a television interview on Finland's major news 
network).  Finland is an important country for the U.S.-- 
small in size, but big in influence, and he was glad that 
relations were strong as he departed.  Finally, the 
Ambassador expressed disappointment that former Finnish 
President Ahtisaari had not won the Nobel Peace Prize. 
 
 
...and on her Advisors 
----------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  Ambassador Mack subsequently met with Halonen's 
Chief of Staff, Jarmo Viinanen, and foreign policy advisor 
Paivi Kairomo-Hella.  The Ambassador raised the topic of 
Russia, saying that President Halonen had described Putin as 
someone Finland knew and could deal with since he had a 
"northern mentality."  The Ambassador characterized this 
description as "the devil you know," and Halonen agreed. 
Viinanen responded that given Russia's importance to Finland, 
the GoF will have close relations with whomever is in power 
in Moscow.  He said that during recent meetings between Putin 
and Halonen, the Russians raised concerns about their border 
with China, prompting Halonen to reply wryly that Finland 
understood how problematic long borders with big communist 
powers could be. 
 
4.  (C)   Viinanen opined that Finland was, ironically, in 
better shape now regarding its border policy with Russia 
because of the postwar settlement after World War II.  The 
treaty of mutual understanding with the Soviet Union had 
resolved outstanding border issues, albeit at great cost.  On 
the other hand, the Baltic countries faced continued 
difficulties with Russia over unresolved border issues.  On 
the China Arms Embargo, the Ambassador expressed U.S. concern 
that the issue might arise during Finland's 2006 EU 
Presidency.  Viinanen replied that the embargo was a "badly 
written agreement" after Tienamen, and was "causing problems" 
for the EU now. 
 
 
MACK