Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance

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The Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, also known as the YYA Treaty from the Finnish Ystävyys-, yhteistyö- ja avunantosopimus (YYA-sopimus) (Swedish: Vänskaps-, samarbets- och biståndsavtalet (VSB-avtalet)), was the basis for Finno–Soviet relations from 1948 to 1992.

Under the treaty, which was signed on April 6, 1948, the Soviets sought to deter Western or Allied Powers from attacking the Soviet Union through Finnish territory, and the Finns sought to increase Finland's political independence from the Soviet Union. It thus ensured Finland's survival as a capitalist democracy in close proximity to vital communist Russian regions, such as the Kola Peninsula and the old capital Saint Petersburg.

Under the pact, Finland was obliged to resist armed attacks by "Germany or its allies" (in reality interpreted as the United States and allies) against Finland, or against the Soviet Union through Finland. If necessary, Finland was to ask for Soviet military aid to do so. The agreement also recognized Finland's desire to remain outside great-power conflicts, allowing the country to adopt a policy of neutrality in the Cold War.

Due to the uncertain status of Finno–Soviet relations in the years after the Continuation War, and the precise interpretation of the treaty's wording, Finland followed the Warsaw Pact countries' decision and did not participate in the Marshall Plan. As a result, Finland's post-war period of economic hardship was prolonged, compared to other European capitalist countries, and it thus became considerably more economically dependent on the Soviet Union. In general, Finland kept its relations towards western military powers very cool (including the proposed Scandinavian Defense Union) and NATO in particular. By avoiding supporting the West, it attempted to fend off Soviet pressure for affiliation with the Warsaw Pact.

The YYA Treaty was a cornerstone in Paasikivi–Mannerheim's foreign policy. It was also a central policy under the presidency of Kekkonen (1956–1981), who dubbed his foreign policy doctrine the Paasikivi-Kekkonen line. The treaty was an instrumental tool for the Soviet Union to gain political leverage in the internal affairs of Finland in post-war era. This influence was commonly referred to as finlandisation.

The Soviet Union had similar agreements with many nations, that were not directly allied with it but depended heavily on Soviet support, such as North Korea since 1961 and Vietnam since 1978.

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Text of the treaty

"The President of the Republic of Finland and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; Desiring further to develop friendly relations between the Republic of Finland and the USSR; Being convinced that the strengthening of good neighbourhood relations and cooperation between the Republic of Finland and the USSR lies in the interest of both countries; Considering Finland's desire to remain outside the conflicting interests of the Great Powers; and Expressing their firm endeavour to collaborate towards the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the aims and principles of the United Nations Organization: Have for this purpose agreed to conclude the present agreement and have agreed to the following provisions:

Article 1

In the eventuality of Finland, or the Soviet Union through Finnish territory, becoming the object of an armed attack by Germany or any state allied with the latter, Finland will, true to its obligations as an independent state, fight to repel the attack. Finland will in such cases use all its available forces for defending its territorial integrity by land, sea, and air, and will do so within the frontiers of Finland in accordance with obligations defined in the present agreement and, if necessary, with the assistance of or jointly with, the Soviet Union.

In the cases of aforementioned the Soviet Union will give Finland the help required, the giving of which will be subject to mutual agreement between the Contracting Parties.

Article 2

The High Contracting Parties shall confer with each other if it is established that the threat of an armed attack as described in Article 1 is present.

Article 3

The High Contracting Parties give assurance of their intention loyally to participate in all measures towards the maintenance of international peace and security in conformity with the aims and principles of the United Nations Organization.

Article 4

The High Contracting Parties confirm their pledge, given under Article 3 of the Peace Treaty signed in Paris on February 10, 1947, not to conclude any alliance or join any coalition directed against the other High Contracting Party.

Article 5

The High Contracting Parties give assurance of their design to act in a spirit of cooperation and friendship towards the further development and consolidation of economic and cultural relations between Finland and the Soviet Union.

Article 6

The High Contracting Parties pledge themselves to observe the principle of the mutual respect of sovereignty and integrity and that of non-interference in the internal affairs of the other state.

Article 7

The execution of the Present agreement shall take place in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Organization.

Article 8

The present agreement shall be ratified and remains in force ten years after the date of its coming into force. The agreement shall come into force upon the exchange of the instruments of ratification, the exchange taking place in the shortest time possible in Helsinki.

Provided neither of the High Contracting Parties has denounced it one year vefore the expiration of the said ten-year period, the agreement shall remain in force for subsequent five-year periods until either High Contracting Party one year before the expiration of such five-year periods in writingn notifies its intention of terminating the validity of the agreement.

In witness hereof the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present agreement and affixed their seals.

Done in the city of Moscow on the sixth day of April, 1948, in two copies, in the Finnish and the Russian languages, both texts being authentic."

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Trivia

Paraphrasing president Paasikivi, the Finnish political cartoonist Kari Suomalainen defined the Paasikivi-Kekkonen line as "The art of bowing to the East so carefully that it could not be considered mooning the West."

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