Cyr: Presidential divas did a disservice to Finland

Geography counts in diplomacy, as well as military and other more tangible occupations. The Helsinki summit that was held Monday between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States has sparked controversy. As usual, context helps.

Reflecting location — bordering Russia, Finland traditionally encounters relations among larger nations, including war and Cold War along with diplomacy. President Ronald Reagan in 1988 spent three restful days in Helsinki before he went to a summit meeting with President Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union.

Also, in September 1990, President George H.W. Bush met with Gorbachev in Helsinki, which followed up an earlier meeting that was held in Malta. Iraq had just invaded Kuwait, and Bush wanted to use Moscow’s considerable influence to try to reverse that armed aggression. At the time, there were several thousand Soviet military advisers who were in the Middle East.

Nations invading other sovereign nations is an unusual occurrence since World War II. Ultimately, a broad international coalition that was led by the United States, and that was fully authorized by the United Nations, liberated Kuwait. And the Soviet Union supported the effort.

Washington and Moscow also were allies back in 1956, in the United Nations and elsewhere, in the assertive — and what proved to be successful — leadership of President Dwight D. Eisenhower to thwart the joint British-French-Israeli military attack on Egypt.

Egypt’s nationalist resident Gamal Nasser’s seizure of the Suez Canal prompted that invasion. This is another prime example of nations violating national boundaries. Britain spearheaded the effort to return to the methods of 19th century imperialism. And Eisenhower demonstrated forcefully that the world had gone beyond tolerating that type of behavior.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in Helsinki. The encounter further underscored Finland’s role of serving as a useful meeting ground for the principal leaders of the Cold War superpowers.

Beyond these two nuclear weapons powers, in 1992 the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe convened in Helsinki. This inclusive diplomatic international body had grown to 52 nations, which were focused on promoting stability and transparency among the European nations.

In 1975, the 35 nations comprising the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe signed the important Helsinki Accords to confirm the legitimacy of Europe’s national borders. This was a major diplomatic victory for the Soviet Union, as well as being worthwhile generally for stability.

The Trump administration overall has been consistent in giving emphasis to secure borders for Finland and for the Baltic States, which have been traditional targets of Russian aggression. “We are with you, we stand with you on behalf of freedom.” Vice President Mike Pence made that statement in July 2017 while he was in Estonia, the first stop on a trip that included stops in Georgia and Montenegro, which were also pressured by Russia.

President Sauli Niinistö of Finland visited the White House in 2017. And on April 3 of this year, the United States hosted a Baltic Summit, underscoring its commitment and strong ties to Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

In 1940, the Soviet Union annexed the Baltic States, which had achieved independence in 1918. The U.S. government continued to fly the Baltic States’ flags throughout that occupation. And exile groups from the Baltic States became influential in the United States and elsewhere. All three Baltic nations became members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in March 2004.

During the Cold War, the Finns accommodated Moscow, but they were never under direct control of the Soviet Union. The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940 ended through negotiation, not through conquest. This greatly embarrassed Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin and the Red Army, which had anticipated an easy victory. Lethal, highly trained Finnish ski troops inflicted enormous military casualties on the Soviets.

The two prima donnas who just met in Helsinki on Monday proved unworthy of this important history.

Credit the Finns for being helpful — and tough.

Arthur Cyr is the Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., and is a GateHouse Media columnist. Reach him at acyr@carthage.edu.