Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen (NCP) gave a statement to media before she and her EU colleagues held a historic meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, 2 October 2023. Valtonen stated after the meeting that it is the duty of policy makers to communicate that Finland is unwavering in its support to Ukraine. (Sergei Supinsky – AFP / Lehtikuva)
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FINLAND remains unwavering in its support for Ukraine, assures Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen (NCP).
“Finland will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary. With this visit, we are sending a critical message about the strong and long-term support of the EU to Ukraine,” she stated in a press release following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday.
Valtonen and her counterparts from the 27-country bloc sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba on Monday to discuss EU support to Ukraine, EU—Ukraine relations and the membership path of Ukraine.
It was the first such meeting held in a non-member state, a fact that was highlighted by both and Kuleba the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
“We are convening a historic meeting of EU foreign ministers here in Ukraine, [a] candidate country and future member of the EU. We are here to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people,” Borrell wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The significance of the meeting extends beyond the symbolic, underlined Valtonen.
“We discussed in very concrete terms about how to support Ukraine more vigorously and what different elements are linked to that,” she stated to Finnish journalists via a video link from Kyiv, according to STT.
She said Ukraine was widely commended for its ability to make progress on the criteria imposed for its membership path all the while continuing to defend its territory against the unlawful invasion of Russia. Finland, she added, nonetheless continues to emphasise the need for reforms that strengthen the rule of law.
The EU will communicate later this month on the progress made by the country and other aspiring members toward the criteria, according to Valtonen.
Although the 27-country bloc re-affirmed its support for Ukraine in Kyiv, its ranks appear to be increasingly divided.
In Slovakia, Roberto Fico has begun forming a ruling coalition after his populist left-wing party triumphed in last weekend’s general elections on the promise not to deliver another round of ammunition to Ukraine and to improve relations with Russia. In Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that the country would put a stop to military support in order to arm itself, a statement that was later walked back by President Andrzej Duda.
The statement has been linked to the looming elections in Poland and the rift over grain between Poland and Ukraine.
Valtonen on Monday said the visit to Kyiv demonstrated that there is no room for war fatigue in the EU.
“It is our duty and responsibility as policy makers to communicate that our support to Ukraine is not charity, but that it is our common defensive battle for the European way of life, human rights and democracy,” she stated in response to a question about the continuation of western support to Ukraine.
“There was no discernible fatigue at least among EU ministers, quite the contrary.”
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
