Finland says it is ready to expand sanctions against Russia

Finland will not prevent the European Union (EU) from banning Russian nickel. This was stated by the head of the country's Foreign Ministry Elina Valtonen in an interview with the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper on December 8.

According to her, the EU should consistently "tighten anti-Russian sanctions."

"Finland is generally ready to support tougher restrictions on imports from Russia if member states jointly come to this decision," the Finnish foreign minister said.

She added that the Finnish authorities would not be against adding Russian nickel to the list of sanctions.

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Earlier, on November 28, it was reported that members of the European Parliament were in favor of additional sanctions against Russia. They called for restrictions in the metallurgical, nuclear, chemical and banking industries.

Before that, on November 18, the EU Council blacklisted three Russian shipping companies - MG Flot, VTS Broker and Arapax, as well as the company Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its director Mohammad Reza.

According to economist Maxim Chirkov's assessment, which he shared with Izvestia, as a result of the anti-Russian sanctions, many European countries are teetering on the brink of recession. He expressed the opinion that the EU is unlikely to come up with anything new in this area and drew attention to the serious growth rates of the Russian economy.

In October, EP deputy Lebos Blaga told Izvestia that sanctions against Russia mean a long-term prospect of economic suicide in Europe. He noted that restrictions against Russia do not harm it - they harm EU countries.

Western countries increased sanctions pressure on Russia after the start of the special operation to protect civilians in Donbass, which was announced on February 24, 2022.