Finnish President Sauli Niinistö did not support the call of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky to maintain sanctions against Russia. The fact that the sanction pressure on Moscow did not reach its goal, he said in Kiev during his speech at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) business forum, founded by businessman Victor Pinchuk.

The moderator of the discussion asked the Finnish leader a question: “You said that it is very difficult to imagine that the global crisis can be resolved without the participation of Russia. My question is, is there any reason to believe that Russia is ready, in your words, to join the international community, and not be an outside force striving to undermine the international community? ”

In response, Niinistö stated that this topic was discussed back in 2014, during the events in the Crimea.

“Opinions were expressed that after the imposition of sanctions, the Russian economy will collapse, and Russia will have to retreat. This has not happened, and I'm afraid that will not happen, ”said the Finnish president.

From Niinistö’s point of view, other ways of interacting with Russia can be much more promising. As a “living example” of this, the Finnish leader cited successful agreements on the exchange of prisoners reached by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky. According to the President of Finland, it is necessary "to achieve small in order to develop in the future."

According to analysts, the speech by Sauli Niinistö was a kind of response to the speech of Vladimir Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader, speaking at the same event, on the contrary, called the sanctions "a powerful and effective weapon." He also turned to the “global partners” of Kiev, who talk about the possibility of lifting the restrictions on Russia.

“Do you lose money? Really? Sorry, we are losing people. You know, in a civilized world, paying taxes is normal. In particular, to ensure order. Sanctions are actually the same taxes necessary for the world order. If you want, it's a tax for peace. And until the world is resumed, sanctions must be maintained, ”Zelensky said.

Demonstrate Unity with the EU

It should be noted that recently the President of Finland also spoke out against anti-Russian sanctions, but in a different way.

“Everyone, I am sure, is very clear that the sanctions were imposed due to Russian actions. If the position does not change, sanctions will remain, it’s easy, ”Niinisto declared in April during the plenary session of the forum“ The Arctic is the territory of dialogue ”.

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At the same time, the Finnish president has repeatedly emphasized that it is more profitable for his country to cooperate rather than conflict with Russia. So, in September last year, speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, he said that Finland suffered from anti-Russian sanctions more than any other EU country.

At a press conference after negotiations on August 21 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Niinistö noted that “there are no problems” between the two countries. He emphasized that "many areas of interaction are developing in a positive direction."

The need to develop cooperation between the two countries is shared by citizens of the North European state. Finns against anti-Russian sanctions. Thus, according to a survey conducted in May this year by the order of the Finnish publication Maaseudun Tulevaisuu by the sociological service Kantar TNS, 41% of Finns are in favor of lifting EU sanctions from Russia. Against - 27%.

However, experts note that the policy of Finland towards Russia is quite strongly influenced by the position of Brussels. This is especially evident now, since on July 1, the country began to chair the EU.

“It is more important for Finland to demonstrate unity with the rest of the European Union than to try to get essentially small preferences for the Finnish economy from interacting with Russia,” said Dmitry Solonnikov, director of the Institute for Contemporary State Development, in an interview with RT.

Finland’s negative attitude towards sanctions against Russia and cautious attempts to probe the possibility of their cancellation, according to experts, may be related to its specific status of the Arctic state, analysts say.

“For Niinistö, Russia is not only the economic partner of his country, but also the most important partner for cooperation in the Arctic. Finland is one of the eight states that make up the Arctic Council. All of them must cooperate in order to pursue a coordinated, ultimately beneficial to each of them, policy for the development of the region. The confrontation with Russia prevents this, ”Vera Smorchkova, professor of the RANEPA, stated in an interview with RT.

She is convinced that “to come up against Russia on a united front, which Zelensky actually called for, is completely not in the interests of states aimed at using the potential of the Arctic.”

"Personal opinion"

At the same time, political scientists are urging not to draw far-reaching conclusions in connection with the statement of Niinisto, made at the Kiev forum.

“The President of Finland expressed his point of view. Of course, this is the personal opinion of the leader of the EU presidency, but it does not in any way mean that the process of lifting sanctions should begin soon. High officials from Italy, France, Hungary, Austria and several other EU countries said the same thing before. Their statements did not lead to anything, and Niinistö’s statement is also unlikely to lead to anything, ”Solonnikov believes.

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According to the expert, in order to eliminate restrictive measures against Russia, a consolidated position of the largest European leaders should be developed, which Germany should first of all support. Analysts recall that it is Berlin that plays the role of the economic locomotive of Europe and the opinion of the FRG leadership on issues relating to the entire EU, as a rule, is decisive. At the moment, official Berlin does not support the idea of ​​lifting sanctions, therefore, from the point of view of political scientists, any calls to alleviate pressure on Russia will remain only calls.

“Niinistö’s statement is just a preparation of the information climate in case someday the conversation on lifting sanctions goes in a serious way,” Solonnikov believes.

However, in his opinion, it is too early to talk about specific reasons for starting such a “serious conversation”.

“Theoretically, even the exchange of prisoners could be an occasion for Germany to announce serious improvements in the framework of the Minsk process,” the expert said.

According to Vera Smorchkova, Niinistö’s statement, rather, indicates that the position of other Arctic states of Europe (Norway, Denmark and Sweden) on the issue of sanctions will be similar to Finnish.

“Earlier, Russia had well-developed cooperation in the Arctic with Norway, but since 2014 it has been significantly reduced. Now all the Arctic states understand that sanctions do not benefit them or Russia. Therefore, the President of Finland is very concerned about the position of the President of Ukraine, and he is unlikely to support him. Most likely, the rest of the Arctic countries will sooner or later share Niinistö’s opinion, ”the expert concluded.