Finland's Foreign Minister says Europe should not rush into negotiations with Russia, even as the European Union debates reopening contact with Moscow, according to Yle. Helsinki ties any future talks to one condition it says Russia has not met. Meanwhile, disagreement on the timing of such talks with Russia runs through Finnish leadership itself.
Helsinki says the moment has not come
Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Yle it is not yet the time to negotiate with Russia. She acknowledged that the EU is discussing how to restore contact. Europe must first agree on its own goals and methods, she argued. Europe has come fairly far on that question, she added.
Valtonen linked any contact to the front-line situation and to Ukraine's position overall. Above all, she said, it depends on a real Russian desire for peace. No such signs have appeared. That holds despite Russia's sharply worse military and economic position. She expects Moscow to show readiness sooner or later.
Finland’s foreign minister to the West: Ukraine doesn’t need help to surrender — it needs strength to win
Finland's leaders disagree on timing
President Alexander Stubb earlier urged Europe to establish contact with Russia within two months. Most EU leaders take the opposite view, including Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. They argued at an EU summit that the timing is wrong. The question had already reached the leaders' table.
"Just stalling for time"
In May, Valtonen said Putin was starting to show genuine interest in peace talks. She quickly qualified it. The Russians are "just stalling for time," she said. She pointed to July's NATO summit in Türkiye as a place to take a wider view.
Kyiv and Washington weigh in
On 20 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects talks with Russia and wants partners involved. At the UN Security Council, US deputy envoy Dan Negrea said Russia must reach a deal, and that time is not on Moscow's side. Ukraine's UN envoy Andrii Melnyk said Kyiv could change its proposal on a ceasefire along the current contact line.
