Helsinki - Prime Minister of Finland Alexander Stubb has said that economic sanctions against Russia are one of the best tools as the Ukrainian crisis stretches on.
The PM said that the EU sanctions regime against Russia were the most effective tool available to manage the situation, since talk about armed conflict should be avoided, Yle portal quoted the premier as saying on Finnish television on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
He said that he was certain that talk of additional sanctions would continue since the ceasefire agreement had been violated, there had been a mass buildup of troops and borders had not been ceded; in other words the Minsk peace deal hadn’t held up.
He added that money is often the best peacekeeper in the world.
“It’s the only way: it’s soft but firm, it’s the only measure we have and it must be used,” Stubb stressed.
Stubb said that Finland should react to the prospect of a modern-day Cold War in two ways: the country should close ranks with the European Union and also ensure that the regional block speaks with a common voice.
“There’s no point in taking Finland into that grey zone where we existed during the time of the previous Cold War,” he remarked.
