Niinistö and Putin will talk over the phone on Friday
THE PRESIDENT Sauli Niinistö has a telephone conversation with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Niinistö stressed on Thursday that European heads of state, especially the French president Emmanuel Macronhave drawn attention to maintaining a dialogue with Russia despite the war in Ukraine.
“President Emmanuel Macron and [German] Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz have done so. I have heard from both that there is a practical obligation to contact Putin if the lines of communication are in order, ”he said. press conference At the presidential palace, refusing to cast the message he intends to deliver to Putin.
“I wasn’t going to tell you that in advance. The call would become pretty unnecessary.”
According to Niinistö, it is important to prevent the war from spreading to other parts of Europe. “I’ve used a metaphor here at the steel mill: One of the weights is cold-hearted killing and the need to stop it. Another weight is this threat of escalation. “
Macron and Scholz demand an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during a call with Putin on Thursday. According to Reuters. The heads of state also stressed the need to find a solution to the war through negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought a change in Finland’s foreign and security policy, but Niinistö began the press conference by reiterating that Finland is not in imminent danger.
“We also have safe options for the future. They need to be thoroughly reviewed – not to delay, but thoroughly, “he said.” We have safe alternatives, but there are risks involved. And those risks need to be thoroughly assessed. “
“Once this alternative and risk analysis has been done in Parliament, it is time for conclusions.”
He declined to comment on the Swedish prime minister’s recent remarks on NATO Magdalena Andersson and the Finnish Minister of Defense Antti Kaikkonen (Center).
Andersson on Tuesday rejected the opposition’s requests to consider joining the Defense Alliance on the grounds that applying now could further destabilize parts of Europe. On Wednesday, Kaikkonen said in the same way that “right now” is not the time to apply, and reminded that the political debate is still ongoing and the parties are weighing their position.
“Right now may not be the time to send a membership application,” Kaikkonen said during a working visit to the United States. According to Helsingin Sanomat.
Niinistö said on Thursday that it is significant that the party leaders are currently ready to look into the matter themselves and on behalf of Parliament. He also reiterated his belief that public opinion should be taken into account in the process – for example through a consultative referendum or a wide-ranging public sector survey.
“I have said in the past that public opinion must be legitimized so that the losing side must also recognize that the outcome is fair,” he said.
He dismissed concerns that the consultative referendum would be particularly vulnerable to hybrid influence, arguing that such attempts would be equally likely during the “inevitably long” parliamentary debate that would take place in the event of a decision to apply for membership.
“I’m sure advocacy campaigns would be easy to implement and target specifically at specific groups,” he said.
Niinistö decided not to reveal his own view of membership, but said he was trying to approach the issue analytically, taking into account the pros and cons of all the options. He added that Parliament should take the same approach.
“If I were to start expressing my views, it could disrupt the analytical, even objective, approach of others,” he explained.
The press conference was held after the President had discussed the political consequences of the current security situation with party leaders, chairmen of parliamentary committees and chairmen of parliament.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT