| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Under the pact, Finland was obliged to resist armed attacks by "Germany or its allies" (in reality interpreted as the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in 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 neutralityA neutral country takes no side in a war between other parties, and in return hopes to avoid being attacked by either of them. A neutralist policy aims at neutrality in case of an armed conflict that could involve the party in question. A neutralist is an in the Cold WarThe Cold War (c. 1945- 1991) was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between groups of nations practicing different ideologies and political systems. On one side was the Soviet Union and its allies, often referred to as the E.
Due to the uncertain status of the Finno–Soviet relations in the years after the Continuation WarThe Continuation War was fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II; from the Soviet bombing attacks on June 25, 1941, to cease-fire September 4, 1944 (on the Finnish side) and September 5 (on the Soviet side). The United Kingdom decl, and the precise interpretation of the treaty's wordings, Finland followed the Warsaw PactHeinz Hoffmann, Polish Premier Wojciech Jaruzelski, Warsaw Pact Commander in Chief Viktor Kulikov, and Czechoslovakian Defence Minister Martin Dzur discussing Warsaw Pact manoeuvres in Poland, March 1981. The Warsaw Pact or Warsaw Treaty was a military al countries' decision and did not participate in the Marshall PlanThe Marshall Plan known officially following its enactment as the European Recovery Program (ERP), was the main plan of the United States for the reconstruction of Europe following World War II. The initiative was named for United States Secretary of Stat. 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.
Soviet Union had similar agreements with many nations, that were not directly allied with it like North Korea since 1961 and Vietnam since 1978.