Finland Times

 

The Chair of the opposition Suomen Kesusta (Centre Party), Juha Sipilä. File Photo Lehtikuva.

The chair of the opposition Suomen Kesusta (Centre Party), Juha Sipilä, on Monday said he does not believe that sanctions alone are sufficient to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

 

Dialogue with Russia, both at the EU and the international levels, should be stepped up, said the Centre Party chief. 

 

According to Sipilä, resolving the crisis requires a more active peace-brokering than at the present, and no major step has been taken towards achieving that.

 

Sipilä said the country has a strong reputation in peace-brokering and, therefore, he would raise the issue to the top of the country’s foreign policy agenda.

 

However, he emphasised that the Centre Party believes the country should stick alongside the EU against Russia’s power politics. This also includes economic sanctions.

 

He said, due to the difficult economic times, the country should benefit from the EU Commission’s European Structural and Investment Funds, as that fall under the portfolio of Jyrki Katainen, Finland’s former prime minister and EU Commission’s vice-president for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness now.

 

“In my opinion, this is an exceptional opportunity to benefit from the EU fund,” said Sipilä, adding that the former premier would definitely give an ear to suggestions presented.

The Centre Party chief remained grounded despite the party’s overwhelming support in recent surveys.

 

Sipilä made a reference to the old adage “don’t count your chickens before they are hatched” and, for this reason, he did not hint at the possible ministerial choices such as whether Paavo Väyrynen will be in government, in case the Centre Party is in the next government.