Trump’s shadow hovers over Brussels – a warning from Valtos about surprising turns

EU foreign ministers will meet on Thursday in Brussels. The foreign minister representing Finland at the meeting Elina Valtonen (kok) announced on Thursday that Finland supports the addition of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to the list of European terrorist organizations.

“We have to act, and I hope we can get all our colleagues behind this,” Valtonen said.

The United States, Canada and Australia have already designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The issue has been discussed longer in the EU, and the issue came up again after Iran violently suppressed the protests that broke out in the country.

Before Finland, EU countries such as Italy, France, Spain and Sweden have previously announced that they support the classification of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.

Valtonen said that the “slowness” of decision-making has been influenced by the fact that Finland has played a significant role in certain background peace negotiations and peace processes in the Middle East.

Now that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is about to be added to the list of terrorist organizations, it will likely lead to Iranian retaliation.

Valtonen hopes that the decision will not affect the peace negotiations in the Middle East.

New sanctions on Russia

At the same time as foreign ministers are discussing in Brussels, Russia continues its devastating missile strikes on Ukraine. In recent days, they have targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in particular.

EU countries are sending generators and gas to Ukrainians suffering from the cold, but have not dared to supply Ukraine with enough anti-aircraft systems.

According to diplomatic sources, some member countries seem to be waiting for the US president Donald Trump’s peace treaty. This is considered one of the reasons why the 20th sanctions package against Russia is not moving forward. The war fatigue of the EU countries has also been mentioned.

Foreign Minister Valtonen denied in Brussels that EU countries are war-weary, but admitted that the EU may have gotten used to the idea that there is a war in Europe.

Ukraine is actively engaged in peace negotiations, but Russia is believed to be still playing for time.

In order to put pressure on Russia for peace, Finland and Sweden are pushing for considerable tightening in the EU’s 20th sanctions package. The most significant of them would be a complete maritime service ban for all ships carrying Russian fossil energy. The countries also demand additional measures against the ships of the Russian shadow fleet.

They would also like the tightening of fertilizer import quotas and a complete ban on the export of luxury products to be added to the banned list.

According to Valtonen, it would be very important to get the sanctions package moving forward, especially the maritime service ban, because it would have a significant impact on the accumulation of Russia’s war chest.

According to Valtonen, in addition to the EU countries, the United States and Great Britain should also be included in the maritime service ban.

Terms of peace negotiations

Regarding the peace talks in Ukraine The Financial Times has reportedthat the United States might tie its own security guarantees to Ukraine’s territorial concessions. The United States has denied the FT’s information.

According to Foreign Minister Valtonen, the security guarantee between Ukraine and the United States is a matter between the two countries.

“It is very important for us Europeans that we take care of Ukraine’s strong negotiating position and Ukraine’s fundamental right to its own territory and its own sovereignty.”

“We certainly do not require that any of these be given up in order to be covered by some security arrangements,” Valtonen said.

High representative of the EU’s foreign and security policy Kaja Kalla commented on the tying of US security guarantees to territorial concessions on Thursday, emphasizing the importance of US participation in security guarantees.

“If the Ukrainians make very difficult territorial concessions, then it must be very clear that peace prevails elsewhere in Ukraine, that Russia will not attack again,” Kallas said.

The Greenland Question

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen was relieved when he arrived in Brussels that the tension related to the situation in Greenland has been calmed for the time being.

The Greenland issue is now being resolved in further negotiations at the working group level. According to Valtonen, the purpose of the negotiations is to strengthen the extensive defense cooperation between the United States and Denmark in Greenland and the wider Arctic region.

Another rail related to Greenland is the work done in NATO to strengthen the security of the Arctic.

According to Valtonen, Finland has already been working for months to ensure that Arctic security is highlighted even more strongly in NATO.

According to Valtonen, these two “tracks” form a whole that is expected to calm Trump down.

However, Valtonen reminded that in the case of President Trump, one must be prepared for the fact that new proposals can come quickly.

“When President Trump is in power, all kinds of new ideas and proposals can come from there, and we have to be prepared for that,” Valtonen said.