Secretary Clinton’s Trip to Finland Cancelled *update*

I just heard that SOS Clinton’s trip to Finland has been canceled due to the volcanic ash originating in Iceland after the eruption. No word yet on when the trip will take place, they are probably waiting to see if the skies clear up making it safe for air travel.

From Reuters:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton canceled plans to travel to Finland this week because of the volcanic ash cloud that has disrupted European aviation, a U.S. State Department official said on Monday.

It had not yet been decided whether Clinton would travel later in the week to Estonia for a gathering of foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Because of the continued aviation complications in Europe, the secretary’s stop in Helsinki has been canceled,” he said.

The State Department last week said Clinton would visit Helsinki on Wednesday to discuss European security issues, Afghanistan and Iran with Finnish officials and to give a speech on what it called “human security issues.”

It said she would then visit Estonia on Thursday and Friday to attend the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting.

From Andrea Mitchell:

The State Department says she may still leave for a NATO meeting in Estonia — but would not depart DC before Wednesday.

“Because of the continued aviation complications in Europe, the Secretary’s stop in Helsinki has been cancelled; she will not be leaving tomorrow for Finland,” a State Department official says. “We will let you know about the Tallinn portion of the trip when a decision has been made. IF we were to go to Tallinn, we would not leave Washington before Wednesday.”

**UPDATE**

From the State Dept. press briefing today:

…The Secretary is scheduled to attend the NATO informal foreign ministerial in Tallinn later this week. NATO Secretary General Rasmussen said today that any change in the schedule of the informal ministerial will be announced tomorrow. However, regrettably, she will not make the stop en route to Tallinn in Finland for a speech and for meetings with high-level Finnish officials.

So right now, our plan is to depart Washington on Wednesday, but we regret that given the atmospherics, she will not be able to travel to Finland tomorrow…

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