Finnish PM calls for urgent EU summit on Ukraine

He said this in an interview with Euractiv, Ukrinform reports.

Orpo said that said it is "not a surprise" that U.S. President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin directly to discuss peace talks. However, he added, there can be no peace without Ukraine and Europe.

"We waited for the U.S. elections so we could start negotiations for peace, and we waited some weeks for the president of the United States to start the game of the negotiations. Now it happened. It's not a surprise that he called Putin directly, it was a start. [...] It is not possible to make a deal without the European Union because only the European Union can decide, for example, security arrangements or Ukraine's EU membership or on the reconstruction of Ukraine. There must be a place in the negotiations," Orpo said, adding that a common European position is needed now.

"We could have an extraordinary European Council meeting. I [had] a discussion on this issue with European Council President [Antonio] Costa. But we, in any case, have to take care that the voices of the EU leaders and member states will be heard," he said.

When asked what peace in Europe should look like in the future, Orpo said that, first and foremost, "this must be based on an independent, sovereign Ukraine, one that can join the European Union, and apply for NATO membership they want."

Photo credit: Finnish Government