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Finnish FM puts positive spin on neutral approach to conflict By Cnaan Liphshiz Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb defines his first visit to Israel this week as a neutral fact-finding mission. However, in an interview with Anglo File the minister was careful to distance himself from the highly critical approach of Erkki Tuomioja, who became known as one of Israel's harshest critics during his 7-year term. On April 1, 2008 - Stubb's 40th birthday - the Finnish government announced he would replace Ilkka Kanerva, who resigned after a year in office over a scandal involving numerous text messages which he sent to an erotic dancer. "My immediate predecessor began the shift in Finnish-Israeli relations," Stubb told Anglo File on Tuesday at the patio of the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem. "The one before that had quite a different line," referring to Tuomioja. Advertisement In a 2001 interview for the Finnish weekly Suomen Kuvalehti, Tuomioja drew parallels between Israel's actions and the Nazi persecution of Jews, prompting Israel friendship organizations in Finland to issue a joint statement calling the allegation "absurd and insulting." More recently, Tuomioja said that "Israel is the one destroying Lebanon, not Hezbollah." Stubb said he could not speak for Tuomioja's statements. "First of all, he is not in government and we come from different parties. The basic message that I have to Israel is simple, which is that we are partners, we are friends, and will continue to develop our relationship." He added, "I am here to try in my own modest way to push Finnish-Israeli relations forward and also help out with the peace process." The minister said he had come to the Middle East "with absolutely no ideological baggage," adding, "I can't call myself pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian - I'm pro-peace." The basic message from Finland is support for the peace process in all its forms, Stubb said. "That's why we don't blame any of the parties," he said. "I am not in the business of pointing fingers at anyone or making moral judgments. This is the first time in my life that I'm traveling to the region." Kenneth Sikorski, editor of influential Tundra Tabloids blog on Islamist radicalism in Scandinavia and prominent Israel advocate in Finland, told Anglo File he considers Stubb's nomination "a step in the right direction [for] a more balanced, nuanced view" of Israel. Israel's ambassador to Finland, Avi Granot, yesterday said that under Stubb "any concerns that we might have had regarding certain statements about Israel are no longer part of the picture." The ambassador described Stubb as "new blood" with an "eagerness to learn more about the Middle East and an "open mind" with which to do so. "The significant switch in Finnish-Israeli relations came after the 2007 national parliamentary elections, after Stubb's party beat Tuomioja's Social Democratic Party, whose approach to Israel was a direct continuation of Finland's foreign policy from the 1960s," Granot concluded. Judging by the unusually bright red carpet which Stubbs received during his visit, it would seem this sentiment is shared by the often-tested diplomats at the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Scandinavian desk. The foreign minister met Tuesday with Tony Blair, the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East. Before leaving for the Palestinian Authority, he also met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and President Shimon Peres. "It is an unusually warm reception for a first visit," one of the Finnish embassy's diplomats remarked. Stubb, who recently served as the EU mediator in the recent peace talks between Russia and Georgia, commented that he did not believe the war would have repercussions in the Middle East. "The moderate American response to the conflict in Georgia has affects the Middle East in that the Americans wanted to have the Russians on board when it came to the nuclear negotiations with Iran," Stubb said. "Other than that, I think the two issues are pretty separate. The role that the Europeans, Americans and the Russians have in the Middle East has not been hampered." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Playing with fire Sarkozy warns Iran it risks Israeli strike on nuke program. Our own desert island Israel tries to lure 'Big Brother' type U.S. reality TV series.

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