Press Release:

Conference on „NATO and Russia in the Baltic Sea Area“

Hotel Arthur, Helsinki, 4-6- September 2015

A new confrontation is arising: an increase of military spending, failure of progress in the abolition of nuclear weapons, saber-rattling via military exercises are its expressions. NATO’s expansions to the East, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and the war in East Ukraine have led to a much tenser situation in the Baltic Sea where Russia and NATO states border. Military activities in the region have escalated. Poland and the three Baltic states have been alarmed at the perceived threat from Russia and have been clamoring for a stronger NATO presence in the region. With new partnership agreements between NATO and Sweden as well as Finland these former neutral countries become increasingly a part of this rising conflict.

The conference “NATO and Russia in the Baltic Sea Area” wants to analyze the rise of this new confrontation, the expansion of NATO and the conflict in Ukraine and wants to highlight and discuss alternatives to militarization and the building of a new cold war area, namely forms of cooperation and neutralism as well as non-violent bottom-up processes for peace and understanding.

The conference is organized by the international network No to War – No to NATO together with Committee of 100 in Finland, Finnish Peace Committee, Finnish Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Artists for Peace (PAND), Peace Education Institute, Peace Union of Finland, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Svenska Kvinnors Vänsterförbund/ Swedish Women of the Left, WILPF Finland, Women for Peace, Finland, Women for Peace, Sweden, and the support of the European Left.

Speakers include among others: Maj Britt Theorin (Sweden), Sven Hirdman (former Swedish Ambassador in Moskva), Kimmo Kiljunen (Special Representative for Mediation of Foreign Minister of Finland), Ingeborg Breines (Norway, International Peace Bureau), Tarja Cronberg (Finnish Peace Union, Middle Power Initiative, former MEP), Urve Randmaa (Estonia), Nikita Lomagin (Russia, Baltic Center of International Studies) Sergei Kirichuk (Ukraine, Borotba) and Nina Potarskaya (Ukraine, Center for Social and Labor Research)

For more information please see: www.no-to-nato.org
Please find the program attached or here: http://no-to-nato.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NATO-and-Russia-in-the-Baltic-Sea-Area.pdf.

Contact:
Teemu Matinpuro (Finnish Peace Committee), ,
050 5941499
Lea Launokari (Women for Peace), , 050 5522330

Lucas Wirl (Co-Chair ICC No to War – No to NATO, Germany: , 0049 176 64103500)