On the third anniversary of Russia’' major offensive in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) said that Europe has a role to play in peace-making in Ukraine and that no one else can act on Europe's behalf.
Arriving at an EU Foreign Ministers' meeting in Brussels, Valtonen said that Europe wants the good, deep transatlantic relationship to continue.
In her view, Europe must strengthen its own defence, but that it will not happen overnight and that Europe needs friends to be able to do so.
The EU has been considering who will represent Europe's voice and common message in potential peace talks in Ukraine. Valtonen said she is not worried about different people representing Europe, as she believes the EU will eventually find a common voice.
When asked about Sunday's elections in Germany, Valtonen replied that "we need a very strong Germany".
More sanctions against Moscow
Europe must support Ukraine more than ever, its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday ahead of the ministerial meeting. The former Estonian prime minister said she will travel to the US on Tuesday to hold talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on EU-US relations and efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
At the meeting, ministers agreed to impose more sanctions against Russia. The bloc's 16th package of sanctions includes a ban on primary aluminium imports and sales of gaming consoles, as well as listing owners and operators of 74 so-called shadow fleet vessels used to evade sanctions, Reuters reports.
Nordic-Baltic countries to equip and train Ukrainian brigade
Also on Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb spoke at a summit in Kyiv along with other European leaders.
Stubb joined the presidents of Latvia and Lithuania and the prime ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in a statement pledging to bolster support for Ukraine, noting that the Nordic-Baltic countries have provided it with more than 26 billion euros in military, financial and humanitarian support.
"To achieve a just and lasting peace, Ukraine and Europe must take part in any future negotiations. Ukraine should be given strong security guarantees," the countries declared.
"We pledge to provide more support to Ukraine, including air defence and ammunition. We pledge to invest more in Ukraine's defence industry. And we pledge to provide equipment and training for a scalable brigade-sized unit," the statement added.
The nations also reiterated support for Ukrainian membership in the EU and Nato.
Secretary of State to UN and DC
The government announced on Monday that Pasi Rajala, Political Secretary of State to Valtonen and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP), will take part in meetings on the situation in Ukraine at the UN later in the day.
Rajala will deliver a joint Nordic statement at the UN Security Council session on the situation in Ukraine and will participate as Finland's representative in a special emergency session of the UN General Assembly on the third anniversary of Russia's war of aggression. He will also hold meetings in New York related to Ukraine and the Middle East.
From New York, Rajala will travel on Tuesday and Wednesday to Washington, where he is to meet with officials from the new US administration and Congress. He was a Finnish spokesperson in Washington for two years before taking over his current post nearly a year ago.
