Eri tiedotusvälineille myönnettyjä haastatteluja

54. Tasavallan Presidentin haastattelu Moscov News -lehdelle 10.7.1976

`Our relations are model relations`

On the results of his business-visit U.K. Kekkonen said that it was in the interests of developing friendship, trustful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Finland and the Soviet Union. The talks with L.I. Brezhnev, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and with other Soviet leaders again confirmed that regular personal meetings, which give an opportunity for an exchange of opinions on the further development of Finnish-Soviet relations and on international problems, have become one of the most effective forms of political cooperation between Finland and the Soviet Union.

"Our beneficial good-neighbourly relations," the President went on to say, "which rest firmly on the foundation of the 1948 Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, are model relations, and cooperation is spreading to ever new fields." He expressed his belief in further strengthening good relations between our countries.

In this connection President Kekkonen said that he thought it was important to finish jointly compiling the programme for economic cooperation between Finland and the USSR on a longer-term basis.

President Kekkonen holds the view that considerable progress has already been made in implementing the principles and accords of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the "Helsinki Declaration" signed last summer. Though less than a year has passed, the signatories were implementing many of the recommendations of the Final Act, both bi- and multilaterally. The most important thing, alongside practical activities, was that detente is continuing.

The fact that the Final Act was signed at the highest level showed how seriously the signatories took the principle and their practical implementation.

Naturally, the Helsinki summit was no final frontier to development, but from the point of view of the present day rather the beginning of a new period of peace and cooperation in Europe.

The President stressed that the Conference was of great importance well beyond Europe, and all countries interested in positive development should give their active support, Finland, said President Kekkonen, would be doing all in her power to see that the principles consolidated t Helsinki are fulfilled without reservation.

"But, above all," the President underlined this, "it is necessary to add military detente to political detente because, apart from abiding strictly by the Helsinki decisions, it is important too that we should reach simultaneous agreement on new practical steps towards disarmament."

The President concluded by expressing his profound satisfaction with his visit to the Soviet Union.