On Thursday, July 31, during his visit to the Helsinki +50 Conference marking the 50^th  anniversary of the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha held bilateral talks with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs informed the Finish counterpart about another brutal night strike by Russia against civilians and emphasized the need to increase pressure on the aggressor.

 “We need peace through strength. Full diplomatic mobilization of allies, strengthening of Ukraine, increasing the cost of war for the aggressor, maintaining a strong position, and engagement of America,” the head of MFA underlined.

The parties discussed in detail the whole range of the bilateral agenda of Ukraine-Finland relations: additional investment in the Ukrainian defense industry, Finland's contribution to the education sector and the improvement of shelters, Finland’s role in recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, support for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of our state.

Andrii Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to reforms and the fight against corruption on our path to the EU and NATO, emphasized the readiness for the imminent adoption of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's legislative initiatives, which guarantee the independence of the anti-corruption infrastructure and protect it from security challenges related to the war.

The Minister specifically noted the principled stance of the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship and expressed gratitude for the invitation to the President of Ukraine to deliver an online speech at the Conference dedicated to the 50^th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.

Speaking about the anniversary, the head of MFA pointed out that the system created to prevent aggression and mass atrocities in Europe has failed. Evidence of this is the daily reality of Russian terror against Ukraine and Ukrainians.

The root cause of the trouble is Moscow. Russia rejected dialogue and violated all ten fundamental principles of the Helsinki Decalogue. The Minister noted that Ukraine will shortly propose a comprehensive reform of the OSCE: five steps that can take the organisation out of the dead end.

The Foreign Minister remarked that since the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, the Soviet Union has collapsed but the regime in Moscow became more aggressive. He said that Russia intends to expand its war, the evidence of which is, in particular, the engagement of North Korean troops, missiles, and ammunition, Iranian drones, and mercenaries from all over the world.

“The Helsinki Final Act was a product of the Cold War. It tried to ease tensions in Europe. A lot has changed in these fifty years. The Cold War is over. But there is a hot war in Europe right now. This war is on the territory of Ukraine - as of now. But Moscow clearly intends to expand its war,” stated the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.

The Minister stated that at the Conference, dedicated to the anniversary of the Final Act, the Ukrainian side will continue to work on finding solutions for restoring a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine, that would also mean peace for Europe and the world - based on the rule of law.

“Peace, security, and justice in the OSCE area are indivisible. By restoring them in Ukraine, we restore them for every other nation,” he said.

Andrii Sybiha expressed his thanks to Elina Valtonen for keeping the support for Ukraine on top of OSCE agenda, as it was discussed at their meeting in Kyiv in January. He also appreciated the recent invocation of the Moscow mechanism to investigate Russia’s crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war.

“Moscow Mechanism to investigate Moscow’s crimes. This is in itself a sign of Russia’s degradation over the past three decades,” he underlined.

The Minister recalled that Ukraine continues measures to return all of its people from Russian captivity: prisoners of war, civilian hostages, Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia.

He pointed out that Ukraine continues to demand the release of three OSCE officials, Ukrainian citizens, illegally detained by Russia.

The Minister expressed thanks for the support of Finland and the Finnish people. He emphasized that the dialogue between the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the President of Finland Alexander Stubb made it possible for bilateral relations to reach a new level of enhanced partnership. The ministers discussed the implementation of the leaders' agreements on the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between Ukraine and Finland.