The president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, has solid belief in a peaceful solution concerning the crisis in Ukraine.
In an interview with finnish TV channel MTV3's prime time show Asian ytimessä, president Niinistö mentioned an option that hasn’t been part of public conversation so far.
– The Minsk agreement has previously been barely mentioned regarding the situation in Ukraine, Niinistö said.
– I noticed this after Russia announced my phone call with president Vladimir Putin. The Russians said quite strongly, even twice, that the Minsk agreement was under discussion and should be complied with. Today (Wednesday, January 26th), Sergei Lavrov seems to have said something similar.
The Minsk agreement was completed in 2014 after long negotiations. Its goal was to end the war, but the battle has still continued.
Niinistö hoped for a faster and clearer reaction from the EU in the Ukraine crisis.
– Now, the EU has started to react, but I was expecting a faster reaction, he says.
The president of Finland also commented on the situation in the Baltic Sea region. Niinistö said that Finnish people should not be worried. On the other hand, he noted that anything is possible.
– Other than that, we are worried about what happens in Ukraine and what the future looks like. If no solutions are found, the tensions will only increase. If so, there will be a lot of potential for increasing tensions in the Baltic Sea region as well.