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Finland’s top diplomat believes trust between Russia and EU may be rebuilt

However, it is very difficult to say how and when that confidence will return, Pekka Haavisto noted

MADRID, July 1. /TASS/. Confidence between Russia and the European Union may one day be rebuilt, Finland’s top diplomat said in an interview with El Mundo on Friday.

"Our border is very quiet now, <...> and our embassy remains open in Moscow," Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told the Spanish newspaper. "We have many families on both sides of the border, we must remember this on a human level regardless of the disagreement on a political level."

"The problem is that after the attack on Ukraine trust has disappeared and rebuilding it will take time," the paper quoted the Finnish diplomat as saying. "I am convinced that one day that confidence will return, but it is very difficult to say how and when," he added.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for help from the leaders of the two Donbass republics. The US, the EU, Great Britain and a number of other countries responded with sweeping sanctions against Russian individuals and entities.