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“We have seen a little progress made in Minsk. That’s excellent news, given the alternative of the parties returning from the talks empty handed,” said President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö at Mäntyniemi on 12 February, when briefing the media on the ceasefire agreed in Minsk. “The key issue is to end the bloodshed; in that respect, Minsk provides grounds for optimism.”
President Niinistö believes that difficult issues still need to be resolved. Such issues include the situation at and monitoring of the Russian-Ukrainian frontier, the potentially special legal status of Eastern Ukraine and the relationship between the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and the Eurasian Customs Union. “This picture will doubtlessly continue to be overshadowed by the extremely weak economic situation in Ukraine and the issue of how Ukrainian society fares going forward.”
President Niinistö foresees a long, difficult phase ahead, even if Sunday’s ceasefire holds. “If heavy weapons are pulled back from the front line as agreed, we will still only be in the early stages of bringing peace to the region.”