OREANDA-NEWS  Finland has proposed to NATO to place the headquarters of the Northern Command of the alliance's Ground Forces (Multi Corps Land Component Command - MCLCC) in the city of Mikkeli, the country's Defense Minister Antti Hyakkianen said on Friday.

The headquarters of the Finnish Army Command is located in this city, located 105 km from the border with the Leningrad region.

"The establishment of the MCLCC headquarters in Finland is an important step towards further strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense position. The Finnish Army Command in Mikkeli was the obvious choice to host the NATO command. By combining these two places, we get the best possible synergy between coordinating our national defense and coordinating NATO's defense capabilities," the minister said.

According to him, the NATO command will plan, prepare and direct the actions of NATO ground forces in Northern Europe. Under normal circumstances, MCLCC will be responsible for NATO exercises in the area, and in a crisis situation, it will lead the operations of the alliance's ground forces.

The command will consist of personnel from the Allied countries and the Finnish defense Forces. Planning and implementation will be carried out in stages, a more specific schedule will be announced in 2025, the Finnish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

At a meeting in June, NATO defense ministers expressed political support for the creation of a Multinational Ground Forces Command and the presence of Advanced Ground Forces (FLF) in Finland. The proposals were approved at the NATO summit in July. NATO will make policy decisions regarding the specifics of the MCLCC and the presence of the FLF next year.