Finland’s President: Cooperation with Russia Is Necessary

On Sunday, Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto said his country should continue to cooperate with Russia, at least because of the common border.

"We must continue to cooperate, at least because we share a border of more than 1,000 km," Niinisto was quoted by Finnish broadcaster YLE.

"Finland and Russia cooperate on a daily basis in the border area, but it will take time to rebuild trust, let's see when the situation ends, maybe not during my presidency," Niinisto said.

Niinisto's term ends in 2024, and relations between Moscow and Helsinki have been more strained in recent months due to the situation in Ukraine and Finland's accession to NATO.

It is noteworthy that Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, in response to calls for assistance from the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, and Western countries responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions on Moscow while intensifying its military support for Kyiv.

On May 18, Finland and Sweden submitted requests to join NATO, to give up years of neutrality under the pretext of security reasons.