Negotiating an acceptable peace with Russia regarding Ukraine is unlikely, so the Western nations must keep providing Kiev with weaponry, Finnish President Alexander Stubb argued during an interview with CNN on Sunday.
Helsinki used to serve as a mediator between the US and the USSR during the Cold War, despite being generally aligned with the West. It broke its decades of neutrality due to the Ukraine conflict and formally joined NATO last year; Russia perceives the bloc as a hostile tool of the US.
CNN host Fareed Zakharia asked Stubb whether it was “worth talking to the Russians,” given that the hostilities appear to have reached a stalemate.
“When you mediate peace, it begins with dialogue and after dialogue you start setting parameters. But I think the cold truth in this particular case is that the only way we can achieve peace is through the battlefield,” Stubb responded.
The Finnish politician, who called himself “avidly pro-American” in the interview, urged the US Congress to overcome Republican resistance and release an additional $60 billion in aid for Ukraine. He claimed that withholding the funds amounted to “playing” with Ukrainian lives.