Finnish politician Armando Mema has called on the European Union to apologize to Russia after Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated that attempts to isolate Moscow on the international stage had failed. Mema made his statement on the social network X, responding to a post by Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov.
“It is a fact: Russia is firmly holding its positions in the international community, despite the EU’s attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on it and isolate it. It is time for the EU to apologize to Russia,” Mema wrote. He is a member of the Finnish national-conservative party “Freedom Alliance” and previously ran as a candidate for the European Parliament.
The reason for the discussion was Støre’s words in an interview with Politico. The Norwegian prime minister commented on criticism from European colleagues over his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged them to admit that Europe had failed to isolate Russia.
The phone conversation between Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb with Putin took place at the end of October at the initiative of the Norwegian and Finnish sides. After that, a number of European politicians criticized the very fact of direct contact with Moscow.
Mema also commented on the position of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on negotiations with Russia. In his view, Brussels is not seeking dialogue but wants to freeze the conflict so that Ukraine gets time to rearm and the EU gets time to prepare for 2029–2030.
