Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work's Office Call with Finland's Permanent Secretary for Defense

Deputy Secretary of Defense Spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson provided the following readout:

Deputy Secretary Work welcomed his counterpart, Finnish Permanent Secretary of Defense Arto Räty, to the Pentagon today, where they met to discuss a range of topics.

During their meeting, Work and Räty discussed Russian aggression; Russian involvement in Syria; Work's trip to the High North and his participation in the Nordic Deputies Ministers of Defense meeting in September; and the bilateral security cooperation relationship between the U.S. and Finland. The two also exchanged views on how the Syrian crisis will impact the flow of refugees from the Middle East to Europe.

Work commended Finnish contributions to counter-ISIL efforts. Additionally, the leaders exchanged insights on how to sustain robust military capabilities in fiscally constrained times and noted the strategic, operational, and tactical benefits of defense cooperation for both nations.

Finally, Work thanked Räty for Finland's continued cooperation, bilaterally and multilaterally, in a changing European and global defense environment.