Finnish President Stubb: Moscow is not an immediate military threat; Trump: We will protect you if needed VIDEO

US President Donald Trump and his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb have reached an agreement for the US Coast Guard to acquire up to 11 icebreakers to strengthen US national security in the Arctic, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.

Trump and Stubb have established friendly relations since Trump returned to power in January, and the two met in March at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where they played golf.

The two leaders approved a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of icebreakers, which aims to lay the foundation for trade agreements between the US Coast Guard and Finnish companies.

Under the agreement, Finland will build four "Arctic security ship“ in its own shipyards, and then the United States will take advantage of Finnish expertise to build up to seven new icebreakers in shipyards located in the United States.

"We are buying the best icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for making them," Trump said, sitting side by side with Stubb in the Oval Office.

Stubb called it "a huge strategic decision" on Trump's part, "because we all know that the Arctic is strategically important."

The 11 Arctic Security Ships – new medium-tonnage icebreakers to be used by the U.S. Coast Guard – is expected to cost about $6.1 billion, a White House official said.

Trump also said the United States would defend NATO ally Finland if Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack, but "I don't think he would do that."

Stubb also downplayed the short-term risk from Russia to Finland, telling Reuters in an interview that Moscow was not an "imminent military threat."

Trump has consistently called for the United States to acquire up to 40 new icebreakers to improve its national security in the Arctic and counter the growing influence of China and Russia.

Russia itself currently has about 40 icebreakers, many times more than the nearest country, giving NATO's arch-enemy a potentially significant advantage in the high north.

"I think people realize that we need to increase our deterrence so that conflict (with Russia) is not possible," Stubb said in an interview after his visit to Trump.