CANBERRA, Australia (AP) 鈥� Finland鈥檚 Prime Minister Sanna Marin warned an Australian audience Friday that a Russian victory over Ukraine would empower other aggressors and urged democracies against forming 鈥渃ritical dependencies鈥� on authoritarian states such as China.
Marin was speaking in Sydney at the end of the first-ever . Australia鈥檚 pursuit of a free trade deal with the European Union was on the agenda.
She used a speech to urge democracies to ramp up sanctions against Russia.
鈥淢ake no mistake, if Russia wins its terrible gamble, it will not be the only one to feel empowered,鈥� Marin told the Lowy Institute international policy think tank.
鈥淥thers will also be tempted by the same dark agenda,鈥� she added.
A free trade agreement being finalized between the European Union, which includes Finland, and Australia was an opportunity to develop resilient supply chains, she said.
鈥淲e have become far too dependent on cooperation with regimes that do not share our common values,鈥� Marin said, using Finland鈥檚 as an example.
鈥淥ur dependencies are becoming our weaknesses faster and in more important areas of our societies than we would like to happen,鈥� she added.
She described trade with China as a 鈥渞eality.鈥�
鈥淲e all have worries when it comes to China and we must make sure that we don鈥檛 have that kind of critical dependencies when it comes to China,鈥� Marin said.
鈥淲e cannot be dependent, for example, on microchips or semiconductors or any kind of critical technologies when it comes to authoritarian countries. Because if those trading routes would be cut suddenly, then we would be in trouble,鈥� she added.
Marin later met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at his official Sydney residence. The pair released a joint statement saying their talks 鈥渦nderlined the need to work together in strengthening their resilience as open and democratic societies and in fostering sustainable development.鈥�
They prime ministers "agreed that managing complex supply chains, energy sources and investing in trustworthy critical and emerging technologies was needed to promote economic, political, social and environmental stability as well as human rights,鈥� the statement said.
Australia, which is the most generous donor to Ukraine鈥檚 war effort outside NATO, and Finland, a country that is and shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia, demanded in the statement Moscow immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press
