Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen called on European countries to invest more in defense and measures to contain the threat from Russia, the head of the Finnish Foreign Ministry said in an interview with German media on Sunday. DW reports.
“I am ready to expect everything from Putin. It’s time for us to grow up. Putin is a dictator who only understands force,” Valtonen emphasized.
In her opinion, the main goals for the Russians in a hybrid war with the West are Germany and France, and under the influence of disinformation, the Kremlin convinces the population of these countries of the senselessness of helping Ukraine.
“No one wants peace more than Ukraine. But if someone thinks that it is possible to stop the war by stopping the supply of weapons, I can only say one thing: this will not lead to the end of the war, it will lead to the end of Ukraine,” Valtonen said and emphasized the importance of Kyiv’s support.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland also believes that in the future EU countries will need to spend more on defense than the NATO goal of two percent of GDP.
She refrained from commenting on Germany’s decision not to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons for attacks deep into Russian territory, but reminded that international law does not prohibit striking military targets outside its own borders as part of self-defense.
It is noted that Finland allowed the Defense Forces of Ukraine to use weapons provided by Helsinki to strike targets on the territory of the Russian Federation in May this year.
