Finnish foreign minister: Peace deal with Russia remains far off
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Friday that she sees no chance of a quick end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, despite US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine.
"I have little confidence that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would stick to a US peace plan," she told Germany's Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) media group in comments published in German.
"After everything the Russians have done in the last 15 years, the way they are still attacking Ukraine today and waging a perfidious hybrid war against Europe, peace with Russia is a long way off," the Finnish minister said.
Valtonen continued, "As long as Moscow continues to focus on the war economy and pursue political goals that go far beyond Ukraine, we cannot limit negotiations to Ukraine and cannot trust the Russians."
Russia in its current form is a threat, not only to Ukraine and the whole of Europe, but to the entire trans-Atlantic alliance, she said.
"Every peace plan is currently failing because of Russian President Vladimir Putin. With his words and actions, he makes it clear every day that he does not want peace," she told RND.
The Finnish foreign minister called for European allies to have a seat at the table during negotiations.
"On this important issue, it is even more urgent than ever to speak plainly with our partners in the US. [US President Donald] Trump and his team must understand that the negotiations with Russia are not just about Ukraine, but about the security architecture of Europe as a whole," she said.
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