Finnish president stresses need to keep calm amid Ukraine-Russia conflict

HELSINKI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Thursday stressed the need to keep a cool head in security policy decisions amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis.

"In the midst of an acute crisis, it is particularly important to keep a cool head and to assess the impact of past and possible future changes on our security carefully," said the President's Office in a statement.

While saying that the Finnish security environment was undergoing rapid and drastic changes, Niinisto stressed he fully understands the concerns felt by Finns and the need to react to the situation.

The statement came after his meeting on Wednesday with political party leaders, the Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, leaders of the Parliament and the chairs of the Defence and the Foreign Affairs Committees.

On Tuesday, parliamentary parties met to discuss Ukraine and Finland's possible NATO membership, which no party has endorsed except the conservative National Coalition, reported local media.

A poll commissioned by the national broadcaster Yle found that most Finns supported the country's application for NATO membership.