EU must rearm Ukraine and apply ‘maximum pressure’ to Russia, says Finland
Alexander Stubb was speaking as the EU aims to stay relevant as the US pushes to stop the fighting.
Finland’s president has called for the rearming of Ukraine and putting “maximum pressure on Russia” through sanctions and asset freezes in the run-up to possible negotiations sought by the US on ending the war.
On the final day of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, Alexander Stubb and other European leaders sought to firm up how the European Union can move from talk to more action and stay relevant as Washington pushes to stop the fighting.
He laid out three phases: “pre-negotiation”, ceasefire and long-term peace negotiation.
“The first phase is the pre-negotiation, and this is a moment when we need to rearm Ukraine and put maximum pressure on Russia, which means sanctions, which means frozen assets, so that Ukraine begins these negotiations from a position of strength,” he said.
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron will convene leading European countries for an emergency “working meeting” on Monday in Paris to discuss next steps for Ukraine after the US announcements last week.
“The president of the Republic will bring together the main European nations tomorrow for discussions on European security,” Mr Barrot said.
“A wind of unity is blowing over Europe, as we perhaps have not felt since the Covid period.”
He said such meetings “are very frequent”, and emphasised European leaders remain in “constant contact”.
US President Donald Trump’s push for a quick way out of the Ukraine war has stirred concern and uncertainty in Munich.
After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Mr Trump said he and Mr Putin will likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal over Ukraine.
“Don’t underestimate Trump as a negotiator, I genuinely believe that Putin is baffled and afraid what might be coming from there,” Mr Stubb said.
“Right now, the ball is in our court here in Europe. We need to convince the Americans where’s the value added, and then get back into the table.”
He added later: “I think in Europe we need to talk less and do more.”
President Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia, which like Finland borders Russia, agreed that “if we are strong, if we have something to offer… then we are going to be interesting to the United States”.
He added: “If you just continue having those nice conferences, talking and whining, then we are not going to be interesting to our own publics very soon.”
At the conference on Saturday, Mr Zelensky called for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe” to better stand up to an expansionist Russia that could threaten the European Union, too.
