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Finland opposes adopting a Finnish model for war-torn Ukraine
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Finland opposes adopting a Finnish model for war-torn Ukraine

Forcing Ukraine’s neutrality will not bring a peaceful solution to the crisis with Russia, Finland’s foreign minister said on Monday, adding that Moscow cannot be trusted to adhere to any agreement it signs.

Ruled by Tsarist Russia for more than a century, Finland gained its independence in 1917. It then desperately defended a Soviet invasion in 1939 and for a time sided with Nazi Germany in an attempt to regain lost territory.

When the war ended with Allied victory, Finland was forced to spend decades maintaining friendly and accommodating relations with its eastern neighbor and treading a sometimes precarious path of neutrality to preserve independence, a tactic known as “Finlandization.”

With US President-elect Donald Trump seeking to end the conflict as quickly as possible and some allies worrying that conditions could be imposed on kyiv, one scenario could be to impose neutral status on Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine remain neutral for peace, which would de facto end its aspirations for NATO membership.

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In an interview with Reuters, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen poured cold water on the “Finnishization” model, pointing out that Helsinki had rejected Russia in World War II in the first place and that, Despite the subsequent peace, he had always continued to arm himself for fear of a new conflict.

“I am against (Finnishization), yes. Let’s face it, Ukraine was neutral before being attacked by Russia,” Valtonen, whose country has a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, said on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum.

“It’s definitely not something I would impose on Ukraine. Definitely not as a first alternative,” adding that this would not make the problems go away.

The invasion of Ukraine led Finland and Sweden to abandon decades of military non-alignment and seek security in the NATO camp.

Valtonen questioned whether Russia could be trusted even if it reached a deal and said forcing Ukraine to accept terms against its will would bring down the international system.

“I really want to avoid a situation where any European country, or the United States, starts negotiating over Ukraine,” he said.

“Not only can a larger power seize territory, but it can also essentially weaken another nation’s sovereignty,” he said.

Posted by:

Prateek Chakraborty

Posted in:

November 12, 2024