Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has appeared in a major interview with the German newspaper Zeit. He has been president of the country since 2011 and has many thoughts about the war between neighboring Russia and Ukraine.
In the interview, he is asked whether he believes in the solution proposed by former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen in November.
Believes that Putin has changed
The proposal is for the non-occupied areas of Ukraine to become members of NATO, while the occupied areas remain outside.
He is very skeptical of such a solution:
– It will create a new border inside Ukraine, and I find it difficult to see that in any way being a solution. What if the war continues? Then we will have a third world war, he says and explains further:
– If the war does not continue, there will be a permanent border. And I don’t think the Ukrainians will accept such an arrangement for the future, says Niinistö.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the West should not get a monopoly on artificial intelligence, i.e. AI. Video: AP. Reporter: Marte Nyløkken Helseth / Dagbladet TV. view more
Pointing to China
The Finnish president himself believes that China’s role is important if the war is to be ended.
– They should be involved when we plan what final security guarantees Ukraine can get. Because if China is involved in such a solution, the country must also hold its Russian friends responsible, he says.
When he met Zelenskyj earlier this year, the Ukrainian leader is said to have been told that he is ready to talk to China.
Cold shower for Putin: – Damn sorry
– It’s time
Fogh Rasmussen made the NATO proposal in an interview with The Guardian in mid-November.
– The time has come to take the next step and invite Ukraine to become a member of NATO. We need a new European security architecture with Ukraine at the heart of NATO, said the former Danish prime minister in an interview with The Guardian.
Although Western leaders have made many positive statements, the Ukrainians have not been given a date for when they can join NATO. This is due, among other things, to the alliance’s Article 5, where the member states undertake to help another member state that is attacked.
In practice, Ukrainian NATO membership will thus be a declaration of war from NATO against Russia. If Russian-occupied areas are kept out of membership, the risk of a conflict that includes NATO will be reduced, Fogh Rasmussen believes.
– The guarantees in Article 5 will deter Russia from attacking the Ukrainian territory that is part of NATO and thus free up Ukrainian forces that can be deployed at the front, he says.
Fogh Rasmussen believes that Ukrainian NATO membership will be a clear indication to the Russian president.
The former NATO chief compares the proposal to the time West Germany became a member in 1955, although East Germany did not.
2023-12-08 02:26:20
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