Stubb and Johnson exchanged sharp remarks at a conference in Kyiv
Kyiv • UNN
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson exchanged sharp remarks at the Yalta European Strategy conference. They discussed frozen Russian assets and Ukraine's prospects for EU membership.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson exchanged sharp remarks at the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv. This is reported by the Finnish publication Iltalehti, as conveyed by UNN.
Details
In Kyiv, at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference, where influential figures from politics, business, and media gathered to discuss Ukraine's European future, Finland was represented not only by President Stubb but also by Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
The conference discussed ways to end the war in Ukraine. Alexander Stubb delivered one of the main speeches immediately after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In his speech, Alexander Stubb reflected on his relationship with US President Donald Trump. According to him, Finland plays the role of a mediator and maintains dialogue between the parties.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Stubb from the audience why frozen Russian assets worth €300 billion have not yet been unfrozen and used for the benefit of Ukraine.
According to Stubb, Russian assets should indeed be used for Ukraine's reconstruction or war reparations, but the problem is that some EU countries, especially Belgium, fear legal consequences.
Johnson also asked why the Coalition of the Willing cannot now send troops to safe areas of Ukraine. And Russia is even given a veto right on this issue.
To this, Stubb replied that he considers the Coalition of the Willing primarily as a deterrent for the post-war period. And now the most important task is to provide Ukraine with weapons, intelligence, and financial assistance.
I don't want to say this in your presence, but one of the best security guarantees for Ukraine would be EU membership.
Thus, Stubb hinted that Johnson was one of the main architects of Brexit - the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
It took you quite a long time too
According to Stubb, Johnson got to the heart of the matter, as Ukraine should under no circumstances find itself in the situation Finland was in.
Addition
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Odesa. Lord Ashcroft, a long-time friend of Ukraine, also arrived in the city with Johnson.
We are going to see Odesa. Johnson is here for the first time! As you can see from his reaction - he likes everything here! And how could it be otherwise?