Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to move ahead with new sanctions against Russia, arguing that tougher measures could help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
“I certainly hope that President Trump will move forward with those sanctions,” Valtonen said during a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview on Friday. She noted that recent signs of Moscow’s willingness to engage in dialogue may be linked to mounting military and economic pressure.
“What we do see, and suspect now as well, is that the reason that Russia has again shown some willingness to talk is that the increased arms deliveries [to Ukraine] are definitely piling up the pressure on Russia to find a way out of the war,” she said.
Finland, alongside other Nordic nations and the Baltic states, has been a vocal supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. That conflict spurred a historic policy shift in Helsinki, which abandoned decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in 2023.
The country shares a 1,340-kilometer (833-mile) border with Russia, making its security concerns especially acute.
Valtonen’s remarks come amid ongoing debates in Washington over the scope and timing of further U.S. sanctions, as Western allies seek to maintain a united front in pressuring the Kremlin to end its aggression.
Written By Rodney Mbua
