Finland's Military To Decrease Participation In International Drills Next Year - Ministry

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th November, 2019) Finnish troops will take part in 71 military exercises in 2020, which is 21 less than last year, the country's Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"The Defense Ministry has decided on the Armed Forces' participation in the international [military] exercise cooperation in 2020 ... The Armed Forces 2020 plan includes 71 exercises (there were 92 exercises in 2019)," the ministry said in a statement.

Helsinki explained that it had decreased the number of military drills due to the massive Bold Quest drill that took place in Finland's northernmost region of Lapland in May, gathering the military forces from six countries.

"The most important drills for the [Finnish] armed forces are Aurora, Cold Response, and Trident Jupiter," the ministry added.

Aurora is the major Swedish drill with more than 20,000 participants every year.

The Cold Response and Trident Jupiter exercises take place in Norway.