According to Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, Finland would have voted in favor of the resolution if it had clearly condemned the attack by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Finland abstained from voting on the UN resolution demanding a ceasefire.
Prime minister Petteri Orpon (co.) according to Finland’s decision not to vote for or against in the UN vote is consistent. According to Orpo, Finland condemns the attacks by Hamas and stresses that Israel has the right to defend itself.
– Hamas was not even mentioned in this resolution, and that is why we abstained from voting. At the EU summit yesterday, the EU countries approved a clear statement that was in line with Finland’s position.
In its resolution early on Saturday, the UN General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Orpo commented on the situation in Gaza in connection with the coalition’s extraordinary party meeting in Espoo.
– However, this leads to a very difficult humanitarian situation. Now it should be clear as day that humanitarian aid needs to get to Gaza. There are Palestinian people there who have nothing to do with Hamas. They need to be helped. A humanitarian disaster must be avoided.
The foreign minister also repeats the same message with Orpo.
The foreign minister attending the party meeting Elina Valtonen (collective), Finland considers it particularly important that terrorism is condemned in all its forms.
– We voted in favor of the amendment presented by Canada, in which the attacks by Hamas would have been condemned. In other respects, it is self-evident that we understand the message of the resolution, which primarily aims to help avoid a humanitarian disaster.
Valtonen commented on Finland’s policy earlier in the morning also in X. According to Valtonen, Finland would have voted in favor of the resolution if the attack by the terrorist organization Hamas had been condemned in it.
120 countries voted in favor of the resolution. 14 countries voted against. In addition to Finland, 44 countries voted no.
For example, France voted in favor of the statement, while Finland, Italy, Germany and Great Britain voted against it. Among others, Austria and the United States voted against the statement.
According to Valtonen, however, Finland’s position on the matter is clear: the catastrophic situation in Gaza must be urgently addressed, for example through humanitarian corridors.
The situation in Gaza escalated last night. Israel has said that it struck more than 150 targets in the northern part of Gaza last night. It is even more difficult to get information from the area, as telecommunication connections to Gaza are cut.
The story will be updated.