Finnish President Alexander Stubb is took part in a Ukraine support summit on Saturday. The meeting was held remotely, hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a follow-up to one held in London on 2 March.
Starmer’s office said that 26 leaders including European partners, the EU commission, Nato, Ukraine, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others – dubbed the 'coalition of the willing' – took part in the summit. As with the previous meeting, there was no representative from the United States.
Speaking after the meeting to the Finnish news agency STT, Stubb said that the summit was a step forward in building a coalition of countries to support Ukraine, including about 30 like-minded nations from Europe and beyond.
"Putin is not seeking a truce, ceasefire or peace. His fundamental goal, namely the destruction of Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, has not changed at all," Stubb told STT.
"Hopefully, we can continue pressure from the West to forces Russia to a ceasefire," he continued.
Orpo: Finnish troops needed at home
In Europe, Britain and France in particular have sought to increase their role in the negotiations on Ukraine. France and Britain have also announced that they are prepared to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) said this week that Finland will not deploy troops to Ukraine.
"We are ready to help in any way that suits us, but we will not send soldiers to Ukraine," Orpo told Parliament on Wednesday.
"As a border country, we cannot let them leave here, and on the other hand, it is risky if Finnish soldiers are at risk of conflict with soldiers from a neighbouring country," he explained.
Stubb discussed Saturday’s meeting a day earlier in Helsinki with the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy, which includes about half a dozen members including Orpo and Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (both NCP).
In Friday’s meeting, the president and cabinet ministers went over Finland’s options for taking part in Ukraine’s security arrangements in line with its own security interests amid "efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine", according to a statement.
Stubb’s office said that Saturday’s summit would focus on the next steps towards ending Russia’s war of aggression and on security arrangements to support Ukraine.
New bilateral defence pact
On Thursday, Häkkänen and his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, signed a new bilateral defence cooperation agreement between Finland and Ukraine. Häkkänen also announced Finland’s 28th military aid package for Kyiv, worth some 200 million euros.
Ahead of Saturday’s summit, Starmer accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of not taking the US-led ceasefire efforts seriously and playing "pointless games".
A day earlier, US President Donald Trump praised talks held with Putin on the proposed ceasefire deal in Ukraine as "good and productive".
2.13pm: Updated with details of meeting.
3.45pm: Updated with Stubb comments.
