Finland

The United States established diplomatic relations with Finland in 1919, following its 1917 declaration of independence from the Russian Empire. The United States severed diplomatic relations with Finland in 1944 during World War II, when Finland and Nazi Germany fought as co-belligerents against the USSR. U.S.-Finland diplomatic relations were reestablished in 1945. Finland is bordered on the east by Russia and, as one of the Soviet Union’s neighbors, was of particular interest and importance to the United States both during and after the Cold War. Before the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, longstanding U.S. policy was to support Finnish nonalignment while maintaining and reinforcing Finland’s historic, cultural, and economic ties with the West.