Skip to content

Corruption Ledger

The Public Ledger of Corruption

  • About
  • Corruption
    • banks
    • corporate
    • environment
    • government
    • health
    • Leaks
    • misinformation
    • privacy and surveillance
    • Protest and Unrest
  • Sanctions
    • Sanctions News
    • Global Sanctions Feed
    • European Sanctions Feed
    • Canadian Sanctions Feed
    • US Sanctions Feed
  • Regions
    • Asias
    • Europe
    • Middle East
    • Oceania
    • US & Canada
    • World
  • Enforcement
  • Economy
  • International Conflict
  • Tech
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Free Speech
  • Toggle search form
  • Deutsche Bank Stock Tumbles On Contagion Fears All News
  • Wall St falls as bank contagion fears flare up All News
  • US due diligence firm Mintz Group says staff detained in China after office raid _enforcement
  • China insists it is impartial on Russia-Ukraine, questions US ‘pouring weapons into the conflict’ All Regions
  • China Denounces Submarine Deal Aerospace
  • Russian tech giants appeal Nasdaq delisting All Regions
  • US credit card debt at record high as Fed raises rates again All Regions
  • Russia boosts defenses near Japan; accuses U.S. of expanding Asia-Pacific presence All Regions

Biden Unexpectedly Stops By to Meet Once Famed Putin Whisperer

Posted on March 9, 2023March 10, 2023 By CorruptionLedger No Comments on Biden Unexpectedly Stops By to Meet Once Famed Putin Whisperer

(Bloomberg) — US President Joe Biden dropped into a meeting at the last minute in the White House to see a man all of Washington wants an audience with: Sauli Niinisto, once upon a time known as the “Putin whisperer.”

The impromptu get-together was thrown together as Biden joined Niinisto and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The pair of presidents have now met three times and spoken four since late 2021 — giving the Finnish head of state unprecedented access to the world’s most powerful leader.

At stake is the stalled expansion of NATO, with Turkey and Hungary holding up the biggest shift in the security landscape of western Europe in several decades.

But there’s also the trajectory of the war in Ukraine, now past the one-year mark since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of its neighbor. Insights into what the Russian leader is truly thinking are increasingly elusive and any kernel of knowledge there is a rare commodity.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television immediately after meeting with Biden, Niinisto said that the pair discussed Finland and Sweden’s NATO applications, which are still awaiting final ratification, and the broader “geopolitical situation worldwide.”

What makes Niinisto, 74, valuable to US policymakers is his history.

He is the architect behind Finland and Sweden’s applications to join NATO, a move aimed at boosting collective security following Russia’s unprovoked attack on neighboring Ukraine. Officials in Finland, which borders Russia, and Sweden, just a short distance from the Kaliningrad exclave, were alarmed by the invasion and applied for membership in May.

Niinisto, who last spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin that month, has been described as the “Putin whisperer.” Asked if he would ever speak to his Russian counterpart again, Niinisto said he saw no upside to such a discussion.

“I have said that I’m totally prepared to speak with him if there is some benefit from that, but at the moment we haven’t found out anything such,” he said.

Russia’s demand in December 2021 that NATO roll back almost a quarter-century of expansion by withdrawing forces from eastern Europe and halt further growth signaled a return to an era where great powers surrounded themselves with spheres of influence, according to Niinisto.

It was the first impetus for the Finnish move to seek NATO membership.

“That was a game changer in our eyes because so far we had always thought and said that from our own will we remain militarily un-allied, but who believes it after Putin says that, well, ‘you can’t join’,” Niinisto said. “When he said that he demands that NATO doesn’t enlarge anymore, practically it means that he wanted a NATO-free zone in front of Russia.”

Formerly ruled by both Sweden and Russia, Finland has been independent for just over a century, defending its sovereignty against the Soviet Union in two wars in the 1939 to 1944 period.

As the Nordic nation awaits the final ratifications of its bid to join NATO, Niinisto said his country had always been ready to safeguard its border, pointing to steps such as maintaining conscription and purchasing F-35 fighter jets.

“We have always been prepared to protect our borders, and joining NATO surely gives, in my thinking, more coverage that nothing will happen,” he said. “We are not afraid, but we are fully awake.”

The Finnish leader is visiting Washington as part of a week-long US trip that’s included stops in Seattle and Palo Alto, California, and met with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Thursday.

Finland’s entry into NATO, pending signoffs from Hungary and Turkey, would lengthen the alliance’s border by 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) — doubling its eastern flank — as well as adding an army strong in firepower.

NATO and the Nordic countries have called for completing the expansion as fast as possible — at the latest by a summit to be held in Vilnius in July. The process is, so far, the fastest in the alliance’s history, but Turkey has voiced concerns over Sweden’s entry, and Hungary has dragged its feet without detailing its reasons.

Lawmakers from Budapest visited the two Nordic capitals this week for talks ahead of a potential parliamentary vote later this month, and talks with Turkey were held in Brussels on Thursday.

–With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs, Ott Ummelas and Leo Laikola.

Yahoo News: https://news.yahoo.com/biden-meets-finland-president-discuss-183152386.html

All Regions, Corruption, Misinformation and Censorship, Region Americas, Region Asias, Region US & Canada Tags:t-yahoo

Post navigation

Previous Post: Inside Indo-Pacific Command’s $87 billion wish list to deter China
Next Post: Twitter Files expose ‘censorship-industrial complex’ – journalist

See also

  • EU / TikTok banned from government devices _enforcement
  • Norwegian Intelligence Service: Russia deploys ships carrying tactical nuclear weaponry in the Baltic All Regions
  • Google: Civil Antitrust Suit – Google monopolizes key digital advertising technologies All Regions
  • Malaysia asked to reopen MH370 probe after claims of new evidence Aerospace
  • Michael Nowak and other J.P. Morgan Traders Convicted of Fraud, Attempted Price Manipulation, Spoofing in Multi-Year Market Manipulation Scheme Corruption
  • Europe dissolves Iran trade system that never took off All Regions

You must log in to post a comment.

  • Deutsche Bank Stock Tumbles On Contagion Fears
  • Wall St falls as bank contagion fears flare up
  • US due diligence firm Mintz Group says staff detained in China after office raid
  • Credit Suisse, UBS facing US Russia-sanctions probe, subpoenas also sent to employees major US banks
  • (US) Appeals court sides with Justice Department in Trump lawyer fight
  • Russia boosts defenses near Japan; accuses U.S. of expanding Asia-Pacific presence
  • US credit card debt at record high as Fed raises rates again
  • Russian tech giants appeal Nasdaq delisting
  • China Denounces Submarine Deal
  • China insists it is impartial on Russia-Ukraine, questions US ‘pouring weapons into the conflict’
  • German ambassador confirms that Putin would be arrested if he entered Germany
  • Danish Navy present near Nord Stream 2 – media
  • Railroad reluctant to say who OK’d chemical burn after Ohio derailment
  • Scientists insist on continuing search for toxics in East Palestine
  • Top aide of Canadian PM Trudeau will testify in parliament on Chinese election meddling
  • Zuckerberg, Meta sued for failing to address sex trafficking, child exploitation
  • Norfolk Southern: Independent group finds toxic chemicals that Ohio EPA didn’t – Ohio train derailment (East Palestine)
  • JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank to face lawsuit over Epstein ties
  • Putin announces readiness to switch to the Chinese Yuan currency in foreign trade
  • Putin and Xi sign two documents in Moscow
  • Russia says jet scrambled as US B-52 bombers fly over Baltic Sea
  • Paris police, protesters clash for third night over Macron’s pension reform
  • Global / ChipMixer software ‘taken down’ by multi-national law enforcement coalition
  • Russian officials scoff at ICC’s indictment of Putin
  • SVB parent company files for bankruptcy
  • Violent protests in France over Macron’s retirement age push
  • International court issues war crimes warrant for Putin
  • US / Chinese tycoon and Bannon ally Guo Wengui charged with $1bn fraud
  • Samsung to invest $230 billion to build mega chip cluster
  • Pentagon calls Moscow over drone incident
  • Credit Suisse slump renews fears of global banking crisis
  • Silicon Valley Bank execs, parent company sued after collapse
  • Credit Suisse Shares Plunge as Bank Storm Spreads to Europe
  • Dow tumbles nearly 500 points as Credit Suisse stokes fears of bank failure contagion
  • Russian jet, US drone crash over Black Sea, US military says
  • Dark hours for Credit Suisse Bank
  • Account full of holes at Credit Suisse
  • Russia blasts Canada over ‘regime change’
  • US / Sterling Bancorp, Inc. to Plead Guilty to $69M Securities Fraud
  • US drones have no business near Russia – ambassador
  • Inflation in Argentina surges past 100 percent in historic spike
  • Paris visitors alarmed at trash strike
  • China says AUKUS on ‘dangerous path’ with nuclear subs deal
  • Taiwan unveils portable attack drone as China tensions rise
  • Putin rejects theory about Ukrainian role in pipeline blasts
  • Syrian president Assad arrives in Moscow, set to meet Putin
  • Marin’s F-18 proposal fizzles, as a new Finnish NATO tack emerges
  • Ohio sues Norfolk Southern over toxic train derailment
  • US / ‘Forever chemicals’ in drinking water
  • Nord Stream blasts staged by a state-level actor – Putin
  • No Harvey Weinstein retrial on rape, sex assault charges
  • US / Silicon Valley Bank execs, parent company sued after collapse
  • As U.S. steps back from Middle East, China steps in
  • Western sanctions shielding Russian financial system from global crisis – Kremlin
  • Moody’s puts US banks on notice
  • Robert Kiyosaki predicts next big bank to fold
  • UK $6 billion defense boost targets atomic submarines, weapons top-up
  • BBC gets £20 million boost from UK govt
  • Document reveals why Canada arms Saudi Arabia – media
  • Taiwan braces for ‘total blockade’ – media
  • Biden administration lets Ukrainians who fled war stay in US
  • Ratings Deceit: S&P sued for deceitful CDO ratings
Rumble Video

Corruption Ledger Follow

The Public ▇▇▇ Ledger of ▇▇▇ Corruption. https://t.co/wkobrEotQR

5amResearch
Corruption Ledger @5amresearch ·
10 Feb

News Coverage of the September 2022 #NordStream Pipeline Attack https://corruptionledger.com/news-coverage-of-the-september-2022-nord-stream-pipeline-attack/ via @5amResearch

Reply on Twitter 1623868066818928641 Retweet on Twitter 1623868066818928641 Like on Twitter 1623868066818928641
Corruption Ledger @5amresearch ·
10 Feb

Mia Jankowicz of Business Insider calls Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymore Harsh a "discredited journalist." #NordStream

Reply on Twitter 1623857264086974464 Retweet on Twitter 1623857264086974464 Like on Twitter 1623857264086974464 1
Corruption Ledger @5amresearch ·
9 Feb

#Kraken to Discontinue Unregistered Offer and Sale of Crypto Asset Staking-As-A-Service Program and Pay $30 Million to Settle SEC Charges
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-25

Reply on Twitter 1623815305452560384 Retweet on Twitter 1623815305452560384 Like on Twitter 1623815305452560384
Corruption Ledger @5amresearch ·
9 Feb

SpaceX: Ukraine breaching agreement, weaponizing Starlink https://en.mdn.tv/71FW

Reply on Twitter 1623685510496505860 Retweet on Twitter 1623685510496505860 Like on Twitter 1623685510496505860
Load More

–

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2022 Corruption Ledger. This web site contains no ads.