Finland's President Alexander Stubb has said that his American counterpart Donald Trump is the "only one who can force" Russian leader Vladimir Putin to sit down for peace talks regarding the war in Ukraine.

Source: Stubb in an interview with BBC Radio 4, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Stubb said that Trump once asked him over a round of golf whether he could trust Putin, to which the Finnish president replied, "No".

Quote: "What we need is not so much the power of the carrot to convince Russia to the negotiating table, it's more of the stick that will bring them. So you have to force Russia to come to the negotiating table for peace and that's the deal President Trump is trying to make."

More details: Stubb said Trump "has been giving the carrot to President Putin, and the carrot was in Alaska, and of course now if you look at the language that he has put forward lately, there has been more stick". [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

The Finnish leader said he is optimistic about Trump's abilities, adding that peace negotiations have probably moved further in the last eight months of his second term than in the prior three years.

Stubb added that Russia's economy is struggling, with depleted reserves, near-zero growth and inflation rising to between 10 and 20%.

He is convinced that economic pressure should be used to push Russia to the negotiating table, stressing that Ukraine must receive a reparations loan funded by frozen Russian assets.

Stubb also said he would like to see Russian oil and gas exports to Europe, which have fallen by 80%, stopped completely.

Stubb emphasised that "all the strategic games of Putin have been an utter failure". Russia has not succeeded in conquering Ukraine, dividing Europe or fracturing NATO, which has instead expanded with two new members – Finland and Sweden.

Background:

• Following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said he sees an opportunity to reach an agreement to end the Russo-Ukrainian war soon.
• Trump also reiterated his belief that the Russian ruler is interested in ending the war and that Ukraine and Russia need "to make a deal".

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon !