“We must be prepared to pay the price for ending the war,” says the Finnish Prime Minister
Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) stated On YLE TV1 on Saturday, the European Union has not yet done enough to impose sanctions on Russia.
Marin told the broadcaster that a group of 27 countries must have the ability to decide not only to ban coal imports, but also to ban oil and possibly natural gas imports from Russia long ago.
“It is clear that unless energy is part of the sanctions, we will continue to fund [Russian President Vladimir] Putinwar. And it’s an unsustainable situation, he said.
Members of the European Union reached an agreement on Thursday a new package of sanctions against Russia. The fifth package of sanctions is the first to target the energy sector by banning the purchase, import or transfer of coal and other solid fossil fuels originating in or exported from Russia.
Russia accounts for almost half (46.8%) of the eight billion euros worth of coal imported into the Union.
The package also includes additional export bans on critical goods such as aviation fuel, advanced semiconductors and means of transport; bans on imports of products such as wood, cement and fertilizers; denial of access to the port to vessels registered under the Russian flag; and the complete cut-off of four Russian banks from the EU market.
Although Finland is ready to continue tightening sanctions, including against the energy sector, it is important that the EU makes decisions together, Marin emphasized.
“We know very well that Germany is highly dependent on gas imported from Russia. We need to put our heads together to find out how we can help Germany wean off gas as soon as possible, ”said Marin.
“I understand that there are all kinds of difficulties and that countries are in different positions. But still people die every day in Ukraine. We must end the war. We need to be willing to make compromises in our daily lives. We must be prepared to pay the price to end the war. “
“Forty-five days of war is forty-five days too much. The war in Russia is not honorable, it is cruel and cruel, and it must end.
Finland has already taken steps to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas preliminary lease of a large liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal vessel in cooperation with Estonia. Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Central) said the ship would cause the country to follow in the footsteps of the Baltics and end its dependence on gas from Russia.
“It’s not a boat but a pretty big ship,” he said comments To YLE on Thursday. “Finland consumes about five times more gas than Estonia, but a terminal ship of this size can guarantee and secure Finland’s gas needs together with the Baltic Connector gas pipeline.”
Marin also said on Saturday that Finland is ready to provide additional assistance to Ukraine, be it economic, humanitarian or military.
The Finnish government will publish its assessment of changes in the security environment on Wednesday. The assessment addresses not only the foreign, security and defense policy implications of the war, but also its implications for the economy, capabilities, security of supply, and border and cyber security.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT