Fri, 09 May, 2014 12:16:08 AM
FTimes-STT-Xinhua Report, May 9
President Sauli Niinistö visited Upinniemi to check the current situation and development of the navy. Photo – Lehtikuva.
President Saulu Niinistö hopes that Russian President Vladamir Putin’s conciliatory demeanour on Wednesday is a sign that Russia’s influence in Ukraine is leaning towards the direction of calm.
Niinistö believes external provocation has fuelled a spiral of rage in Ukraine.
The president’s made the comments on Thursday while visiting Upinniemi to check on the current situation and development of the Navy.
According to Niinistö, the crisis in Ukraine has shown that peace in Europe should not be taken for granted.
Photo – Lehtikuva.
He said, “I would not claim that the Cold War would be back, but a very deep climate of suspicion has returned to Europe.”
It also affects how NATO is viewed, said Niinistö. He believes Finland would now need to care of its own defence and at the same time ensure a closer cooperation with Sweden as well as with NATO.
News Agency Xinhua adds: Putin announced Wednesday that Russia had withdrawn its troops from the Ukrainian border and called for a delay of referendum on autonomy in Ukraine’s southeastern region.
“We pulled them back. They no longer stay on the Ukrainian border but are in their bases and at training ranges,” the Russian president said in a meeting with Didier Burkhalter, president of the Swiss Confederation and chairperson-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
In a bid “to create necessary conditions for dialogue” with Kiev, Putin called on representatives of Ukraine’s southeastern regions to postpone the referendum on autonomy scheduled for Sunday.
