The Finnish Ambassador to Greece, Leena Pylvänäinen was clear when it came to the war in Ukraine and what needed to be done for the bloody conflict to come to a just end.
Speaking to TΟ ΒΗΜΑ International Edition in the 13th episode of the “The Ambassadors Series,” Ms. Leena Pylvänäinen stressed that besides the moral responsibility of supporting the embattled country, Europe had to stand by Ukraine until a just solution was achieved with a lasting peace, and for the sake of Europe. “We support Ukraine because it is right,” she emphasized. “We support Ukraine because it is in our interest,” she noted, adding that the outcome of the war will have an impact on the rest of Europe.
The Ambassador told us of the warm welcome she received upon arriving in Greece, adding that while she experienced some beautiful landscapes during official visits to various regions in Greece, she hoped to find more personal time to explore other regions in the country, especially Mani in the Peloponnese.
Referring to the establishment of the official diplomatic ties between the two countries, Ms. Pylvänäinen says the relationship goes further back in time, pointing to the Finnish philhellenes who took part in the Greek War of Independence in 1821. The ambassador says the story of these philhellenes, like August Myhrberg, spurred on nationalists in Finland, along with poets and philosophers, to fight for the establishment of their independent nations.
The ambassador hopes to bolster cooperation between the two allies in the fields of digitalization and green energy, making special mention of the opportunities in innovation and technology. “In Finland, we have one of the largest start-up ecosystems in Europe. And in Greece, you have one of the fastest-growing start-up ecosystems. And these two are coming together.”
Ms. Pylvänäinen believes there was a silver lining to the Greenland crisis for Europe. ‘The way the crisis was defused, you could almost call that a ‘Europe moment’”, she said. The ambassador believes the crisis, although a wake-up call, also demonstrated that Europe was stronger than what it believed. ‘We [Europe] are strong when we act together. We have influence. Our markets play a geopolitical role.” Ms. Pylvänäinen is realistic, however, emphasizing that the EU’s relationship with its longtime transatlantic ally and partner, the US, was changing, a reality the bloc would have to come to terms with. “The current US foreign policy does not always align with our values.”
Cultural ties between countries are the ways people get to know each other, the ambassador says. She explains that the Embassy tries to facilitate contacts that emerge organically between artists and institutions on both sides. Ms. Pylvänäinen revealed exclusively to TO BHMA International that a documentary about the life of Arja Saijonmaa, a Finnish singer, political activist who collaborated with the late, renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, is in the making.
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