Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen emphasized in a statement to Reuters: “I believe that in the long term, the only credible security guarantee is Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which essentially means NATO membership.” The diplomat added that
Finland supports Ukraine’s NATO membership, hopefully not in the distant future.
The Ukrainian leadership strongly advocates joining the 32-member alliance, but faces opposition from several key members. As the war approaches its third year, Ukrainian troops continue to struggle to hold back the Russian advance.
Donald Trump, who has previously criticized US aid to Ukraine, said on Tuesday that sympathizes with Russia’s position that Ukraine cannot be a member of NATO. Trump’s aides and allies believe that Ukrainian membership would be an unnecessary provocation for Moscow.
Valtonen, who recently visited Kiev in connection with Finland taking over the OSCE presidency, believes that a possible Trump administration would not necessarily mean the end of Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.
Three years ago, no one thought that Finland or Sweden would join NATO. So here we are, you never know
– said the Finnish foreign minister.
Finland, which shares a 1,336-kilometer border with Russia, joined the alliance in 2023, and Sweden became a NATO member earlier this year. The accession of both countries is a consequence of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump called on European NATO members to increase their defense spending from 2 percent to 5 percent of their gross domestic product. Valtonen said such rhetoric could spur European efforts to strengthen collective defense. “We are very much on the same side as Trump on this issue, because I think we should do more, we can do more,” said the Finnish foreign minister, adding that Europe has made significant progress in this area in recent years.
Source: Reuters
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