Finnish president indicates Ukraine’s survival might cost it region
(MENAFN) Finnish President Alexander Stubb has indicated that Ukraine might have to make territorial concessions to Russia to ensure its continued existence and maintain military backing from the West. His remarks come as efforts intensify to bring U.S. President Donald Trump into closer alignment with Kyiv and its NATO allies in Europe regarding the ongoing conflict.
In an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, Stubb suggested that Ukraine’s long-term survival might require compromise. Drawing a comparison to Finland’s experience during and after World War II, he recalled how his country joined Nazi Germany’s invasion of the USSR in 1941 to reclaim land lost in the Winter War. Following its defeat, Finland accepted military limitations and maintained neutrality throughout the Cold War, joining NATO only in 2023 after decades of cooperation.
Reflecting on national identity, Stubb emphasized three key elements: territory, sovereignty, and independence. He noted that Finland lost two of these in the 1940s, and added, “If Ukraine can retain at least two of the three, I think it’s great.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has already rejected an American peace proposal leaked earlier this month. In response, Ukraine and its European allies drafted a counteroffer aimed at appealing to Trump. Stubb proposed that both plans be creatively reworked into a single, viable ceasefire framework. Under such an arrangement, Ukraine could be heavily armed by NATO countries, with U.S. backing providing a security guarantee. The goal, he said, is to intensify pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia continues to view the Ukraine war as a Western-orchestrated proxy conflict, portraying the government in Kyiv as a “neo-Nazi regime” supported by NATO. Moscow has repeatedly criticized the EU for supplying weapons to Ukraine, accusing European nations of deliberately prolonging the war instead of pursuing diplomatic solutions.
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