HELSINKI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Entering his second term this week, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday he wants the European Union (EU) members to clarify their views of the security guarantees laid out in the Lisbon Treaty.
At a press conference on Monday, Niinisto said he does not see the security environment of Finland as tense as during the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014. However, Niinisto said that he wants EU member countries to explain how they view the formulations on the security aid.
Niinisto made the remarks when talking to media a day after he was re-elected with massive support. Local observers believe the Finnish foreign and security policies will continue without change.
The loss of support by some political parties may lead to sharper polarization in the Finnish political scene concerning the opinions towards the EU integration, although there is wide consensus on the EU's role as part of Finnish security guarantee.
Security offer from the EU has been part of the Finnish security agenda for years. The need for clarifications about the treaty that took effect in 2009 came up in Finland during the presidential election campaign late last year.
"We must now find out how the treaty is being interpreted in various member countries," Niinisto said on Monday.
Niinisto hoped that the Russian presidential election in March would bring positive developments between Russia and the EU.
"The relations between the EU and Russia, and thus also between Russia and Finland, are difficult. But there are no special problems between Finland and Russia," he stressed.
Timo Soikkanen, former professor of political science at Turku University, noted Russian leader Vladimir Putin said in his congratulation message it is "largely thanks to the efforts of Niinisto that Russian-Finnish relations are developing constructively in a neighborly way".
Soikkanen told Xinhua that Finland could well become a showcase of a relationship with Moscow that can be maintained despite political differences. Soikkanen said this reminds of the cold war era when Finland had a bridge-builder role.
Soikkanen said the Russian appreciation of the re-election brings back the memory when Moscow regarded long time president of Finland Urho Kekkonen as a "guarantor" of Finnish-Soviet relations.
In the election, Nils Torvalds was the only candidate who openly endorses Finland's option to join NATO. Torvalds got barely one and a half percent of the votes. Observers noted no bitter public rift concerning NATO developed in the presidential election race.
However, Niinisto told the press conference on Monday that conclusions about the public attitude towards NATO cannot be made merely on the basis of the support of Torvalds.
