President of Finland Alexander Stubb believes that peace in Ukraine is possible through rearmament for negotiations from a position of strength, international monitoring of the ceasefire, and long-term negotiations on territory, security, and compensation.
He said this during the Munich Security Conference, reports UNN.
Stubb believes that to achieve peace in Ukraine, it is necessary to act in stages.
“The first stage is preparation for negotiations. At this stage, we need to rearm Ukraine and put maximum pressure on Russia. This means sanctions, asset freezes, so that Ukraine starts negotiations from a position of strength. This is also the moment, and I think the Americans understand this absolutely correctly, when we need to start working on temporary security measures for Ukraine. We don't know how long this phase will last, but it will obviously take some time,” Stubb said.
According to him, the next step should be a ceasefire.
“It is often confused with the peace process, but they are two completely different concepts. A ceasefire means the demarcation of the border or contact line, which is monitored. This can be done by the OSCE or the UN. These are not peacekeepers, but only ordinary international monitoring. And already during the ceasefire, work begins on the agenda and mechanisms for peace talks. This can take a long time,” Stubb added.
Zelensky on the negotiations: Ukraine's position is the main one15.02.25, 18:39 • [views_24819]
He added that confidence-building measures are needed at this stage: prisoner exchange, return of abducted children, and possibly a review of sanctions. The main thing is to create a system to support the ceasefire. Stubb believes that this should be a joint project between Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. Ukraine should lead this process, Europe should support it, and the United States should guarantee it.
“I heard an interesting proposal from many senators this week: if Russia attacks Ukraine again, Ukraine's NATO membership comes into effect and the Alliance intervenes. This would be a powerful deterrent. But we are not at that stage yet,” Stubb said.
He called negotiations the third stage.
“They are likely to be lengthy, because we will have to discuss complex issues: territories, security, compensation, reconstruction, etc. But it should be understood that this is a linear approach to the process, and we have many urgent tasks that require attention,” the President of Finland said.
He emphasized that Ukraine will become European, not Russian. And this is a big loss for Putin.
“What we should not discuss is new European security arrangements. We should not open the door to this Russian fantasy of an indivisible security order with zones of influence,” Stubb said.
Recall
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that membership in NATO is the best defense for Ukraine.