Recent public warnings of possible Russian aggression outside Ukraine distract European countries from what they really should be focusing on - immediate assistance to Kyiv and training of their armed forces, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview with the Financial Times, reports UNN.
I'm a little bit concerned about this rather bellicose talk that Russia is going to test Article 5 (NATO's collective defense clause - ed.) and that Europe is next in line. We have to prepare for that, but I think it's unlikely
He called on all European states to be more prepared. "We need to prepare for the worst in order to avoid it," Stubb added.
According to him, the defense of Ukraine in the coming months is of paramount importance, as Russian President Vladimir Putin "feels very confident" and has set his sights on a "window of opportunity" to break through Ukraine's defenses by September.
The Finnish president said that Europe has a "window of opportunity of a few years" to change its thinking, abandoning the "la-la-la-land" of the post-Cold War era, when too many countries considered war unlikely.
"The Alliance and the (European - ed.) Union should not only prepare the frontline countries, but everyone," he added. Among the measures that other European countries should consider, Stubb mentioned military service, which is mandatory in Finland.
The President of Finland believes that by 2030 Russia will still have an authoritarian leader, and that it will "replenish its army to about the same level as before the war.
Stubb called on NATO countries to "support Ukraine for as long as it takes, and at this point with virtually whatever it takes" to repel Russia's spring offensive.
"Russians realize that their window of opportunity will start to close by the end of August, beginning of September. Therefore, we urgently need to help Ukraine right now," the President summarized.
Recall
This year, European leaders, from Poland, Germany, and Sweden to the United Kingdom and Estonia, have warned that Russia could attack a NATO country in the next three to ten years.
French President Emmanuel Macron's rhetoric has also become much tougher on Russia in recent months, with the EU's top diplomat saying this week that a European war beyond Ukraine "is no longer a fantasy.