The President of Finland called for maintaining relations between the EU and Russia

Europe is interested in ensuring that hostilities do not resume after the end of the conflict in Ukraine, so it is necessary to learn to “tolerate” Russia and come to some kind of mutual understanding, stated in an interview with The New York Times, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

Niinistö did not make predictions about how long the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will last and how it will end, but Russia will remain and some kind of relationship will need to be built with it.

“There is also a strong European interest in making sure that Russia does not return to war after peace in Ukraine,” he said, adding that trust will be necessary to ensure that “a new war does not wait outside the door.”

The President of Finland believes that Europe must have a way to maintain relations with Russia. “I don’t mean some kind of great friendship, but the ability to tolerate and even understand each other a little,” he explained.

Niinistö also said in an interview that the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine was a “wake-up call” for Europe and NATO. He called it a mistake that European countries weakened their defenses after the collapse of the USSR. The politician also commented on the recent discovery of drone debris in Romania, noting that “even little things can greatly change things for the worse.” There is, in his opinion, a “huge” risk of using nuclear weapons.

Niinistö expressed criticism of the policies of the leaders of the United States and Germany, which some consider too cautious in supplying Ukraine with modern long-range missiles and drones.

“There is a difference between those who are responsible and those who are not. Also, in Finland we hear voices saying that America should do this or that. And I just wanted to point out that if there is an escalation of a major war, that is, a world war, then the nuclear risk will clearly become greater,” the head of state said.