Swedish government expresses concern over Trump not mentioning Ukraine in inaugural speech

Swedish Minister of Economy and Finance Elisabeth Svantesson has expressed concern that United States President Donald Trump did not mention Ukraine in his inaugural speech on 20 January.

 Elisabeth Svantesson, speaking to journalists in Brussels before the start of the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting, stressed that Trump's failure to mention Ukraine in his speech after taking the presidential oath is a cause for concern. 

"What I was a bit concerned of when I listened to Trump – he didnʼt mention Ukraine. That’s troubling," Elisabeth Svantesson stated.

In his inaugural speech, Trump promised to be a peacemaker and unifier.

The Swedish Minister of Economy and Finance also announced that Ukraine's Minister of Finance Serhii Marchenko will attend today's ECOFIN meeting.

"He [Serhii Marchenko] can describe what happens in Ukraine right now and what they need," she said.

The Swedish minister also raised the issue of some institutions and politicians in the European Union relaying false information about the allegedly good state of the Russian economy.

"Many institutions, read IMF, or media and politicians, talked quite positively about narratives of Putin [about the state of the Russian economy]. But we know that the economy in Russia is quite bad. We know that sanctions work, and thatʼs why we really need to continue with sanctions," Svantesson added.

Elisabeth Svantesson promised to raise this issue today at the EU Economic and Financial Council meeting.

The finance ministers of eight EU countries said back in July 2024 that Russia was spreading a false narrative about the strength of its economy and that Western sanctions had actually hit its military machine and needed to be strengthened further.