In mid-January, US President-elect Donald Trump hinted that the US sanctions against Russia could be lifted in exchange for the nuclear arsenal reduction.
"It would be good thing to have the possibility of lifting the sanctions, but there is a condition and that is Minsk," Niinisto said at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, when asked about the possible effect of Trump's suggestion on European and Finnish sanctions policy.
Niinisto also said he believed that Washington was unlikely to change its policy regarding the sanctions, which were imposed over Crimea's reunification with Russia.
Niinisto stressed that Finland respected decisions taken by the European Union as it is one of the EU member states and noted that Brussels and Washington had taken their own decisions concerning the issue of applying sanctions against Russia.