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Straits Times
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
US should impose more sanctions on Russia, Finland says, as Trump's deadline arrives
FILE PHOTO: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen attends a press conference during the Helsinki+50 OSCE conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 31, 2025. The conference marks the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. Lehtikuva/Mikko Stig/via REUTERS/File Photo HELSINKI - U.S. President Donald Trump should move forward with imposing more sanctions on Russia as it would help bring an end to the war in Ukraine, Finland's foreign minister said on Friday in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview. Trump set Friday as the deadline by which Russia had to agree to peace in Ukraine or have its oil customers face secondary tariffs. If imposed, they would sever a major source of funding for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort. However, Putin and Trump are now expected to meet as early as next week following talks between the Russian leader and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, raising the possibility that the new sanctions may be delayed or cancelled. A White House official said on Wednesday the secondary sanctions were still expected to be implemented against countries doing business with Russia from Friday despite the latest diplomatic flurry. "I certainly hope that President Trump will move forward with those sanctions," Elina Valtonen said in the interview, referring to the secondary sanctions that could especially impact China and India, the biggest purchasers of Russian oil. Finland's President Alexander Stubb was among several European leaders to join a phone call with Trump on Wednesday designed to coordinate Western efforts to end the Ukraine war. Valtonen said continued Western arms supplies to Kyiv also had a vital role to play in pressuring Putin to end the war, which began in February 2022 with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "What we do see... is that the reason that Russia has again shown some willingness to talk, is that the increased arms deliveries (to Ukraine) are definitely piling up the pressure on Russia to find a way out of the war," she said. Finland, along with other Nordic countries and the three Baltic states, has been among Ukraine's staunchest supporters. The 2022 invasion prompted Finland, which shares a 1,340-km (833 mile) border with Russia, to join NATO two years ago, upending decades of non-alignment. Valtonen became foreign minister two months after that historic step was taken. The Russian state's fiscal situation is not as good as it was three years ago and its economic situation is even worse, Valtonen said, referring to the impact of sanctions and a massive diversion of resources in Russia to the war effort. "We need to be piling up on the pressure, and then hope that Russia will react positively one day, which means that they will end their invasion," she said. GAZA Asked about the situation in Gaza, Valtonen expressed "great worry" over a decision by Israel's security cabinet to approve a plan on Friday to take control of Gaza City in an expansion of military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating nearly two-year-old war. On Thursday, asked if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, Netanyahu told Fox News Channel in an interview: "We intend to." "We do think that it is so important now... to keep alive the prospect for the two-state solution, even though it looks very difficult at this moment," she said, referring to the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel. France, Britain and Canada have announced plans in recent weeks to recognise an independent Palestinian state, but Valtonen signalled that Finland has no immediate plans to do so. "There have to be concrete steps, which essentially means that there will be a mutual recognition of a Palestinian state at some point (with Israel), but also the normalisation of relations between Arab countries ... and with Israel," she said. REUTERS
Hindustan Times
08-08-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
US should impose more sanctions on Russia, Finland says, as Trump's deadline arrives
By Anne Kauranen US should impose more sanctions on Russia, Finland says, as Trump's deadline arrives HELSINKI -U.S. President Donald Trump should move forward with imposing more sanctions on Russia as it would help bring an end to the war in Ukraine, Finland's foreign minister said on Friday in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview. Trump set Friday as the deadline by which Russia had to agree to peace in Ukraine or have its oil customers face secondary tariffs. If imposed, they would sever a major source of funding for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort. However, Putin and Trump are now expected to meet as early as next week following talks between the Russian leader and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, raising the possibility that the new sanctions may be delayed or cancelled. A White House official said on Wednesday the secondary sanctions were still expected to be implemented against countries doing business with Russia from Friday despite the latest diplomatic flurry. "I certainly hope that President Trump will move forward with those sanctions," Elina Valtonen said in the interview, referring to the secondary sanctions that could especially impact China and India, the biggest purchasers of Russian oil. Finland's President Alexander Stubb was among several European leaders to join a phone call with Trump on Wednesday designed to coordinate Western efforts to end the Ukraine war. Valtonen said continued Western arms supplies to Kyiv also had a vital role to play in pressuring Putin to end the war, which began in February 2022 with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "What we do see... is that the reason that Russia has again shown some willingness to talk, is that the increased arms deliveries are definitely piling up the pressure on Russia to find a way out of the war," she said. Finland, along with other Nordic countries and the three Baltic states, has been among Ukraine's staunchest supporters. The 2022 invasion prompted Finland, which shares a 1,340-km border with Russia, to join NATO two years ago, upending decades of non-alignment. Valtonen became foreign minister two months after that historic step was taken. The Russian state's fiscal situation is not as good as it was three years ago and its economic situation is even worse, Valtonen said, referring to the impact of sanctions and a massive diversion of resources in Russia to the war effort. "We need to be piling up on the pressure, and then hope that Russia will react positively one day, which means that they will end their invasion," she said. GAZA Asked about the situation in Gaza, Valtonen expressed "great worry" over a decision by Israel's security cabinet to approve a plan on Friday to take control of Gaza City in an expansion of military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating nearly two-year-old war. On Thursday, asked if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, Netanyahu told Fox News Channel in an interview: "We intend to." "We do think that it is so important now... to keep alive the prospect for the two-state solution, even though it looks very difficult at this moment," she said, referring to the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel. France, Britain and Canada have announced plans in recent weeks to recognise an independent Palestinian state, but Valtonen signalled that Finland has no immediate plans to do so. "There have to be concrete steps, which essentially means that there will be a mutual recognition of a Palestinian state at some point , but also the normalisation of relations between Arab countries ... and with Israel," she said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Sun
08-08-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
US should impose sanctions on Russia, Finland's Valtonen says
HELSINKI: Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Friday she hoped U.S. President Donald Trump will move forward with imposing sanctions on Russia as it would help bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. 'I certainly hope that President Trump will move forward with those sanctions,' Valtonen said in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview. 'What we do see - and suspect now as well - is that the reason that Russia has again shown some willingness to talk, is that the increased arms deliveries (to Ukraine) are definitely piling up the pressure on Russia to find a way out of the war.' Finland, its fellow Nordic countries and the Baltics, have been among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine. The 2022 invasion prompted Finland, which shares a 1,340-km (833 mile) border with Russia, to join NATO two years ago, upending decades of non-alignment - REUTERS
Express Tribune
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
UN chief slams US-backed Gaza aid plan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the ReutersNEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, New York, US, November 8, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a US-backed aid operation in Gaza is "inherently unsafe," giving a blunt assessment: "It is killing people". Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement. Guterres said UN-led humanitarian efforts are being "strangled", aid workers themselves are starving and Israel — as the occupying power — is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave. "People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence," Guterres told reporters. "It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza."
Int'l Business Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
White House Insists China 'Will Be Absorbing' Tariff Costs Despite Treasury Secretary Admitting Burden 'May Get Passed to Consumers'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted on Monday that China "will be absorbing" the cost of tariffs on its exports despite U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously admitting the burden "may get passed to consumers." Over the weekend, President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that "Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain" after the company's CEO revealed during an earnings call days prior that, "given the magnitude of the tariffs," the company will be raising prices. "Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING," Trump continued. "I'll be watching, and so will your customers!!!" he added. World Bank President David Malpass attends the Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, New York, U.S., December 1, 2022. Reuters When asked whether the president's remarks signaled an acknowledgment that Americans would bear the cost of tariffs not absorbed by companies, Leavitt firmly rejected the idea. "First of all, the CEO of Walmart made those comments about the tariffs on an earnings call where CEOs, I believe, are legally obligated to give the most dire warnings and forecasts to their investors and stakeholders," Leavitt stated during Monday's press briefing. "The reality is, as the president has always maintained, Chinese producers will be absorbing the costs of these tariffs and that is why China was so quick to hustle to the negotiating table with the United States of America," she continued. "They need our markets. They need our consumers," Leavitt added in a clip shared by journalist Aaron Rupar on X. Originally published on Latin Times
