Finland’s president is advocating for a firm deadline of April 20 for Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Alexander Stubb, speaking in London after visiting with Trump over the weekend, lauded Trump’s potential as a negotiator, suggesting he is “probably the only person in the world who can mediate the peace.”
However, he stressed that the ceasefire negotiation should have a defined end date.
“We need a ceasefire and a specific date for it,” Stubb stated. “That date should be April 20th.”
This date would coincide with three months since Trump’s inauguration and also falls on Orthodox Easter.
Stubb warned that “if — who is the only one who is not accepting a ceasefire, because the Americans want it, the Europeans want it, the Ukrainians want it — if he doesn’t oblige by the ceasefire, then we should go for a colossal set of sanctions coming from the United States and Europe.”
Trump has mentioned a “psychological deadline” for Russia to agree to a ceasefire but has refrained from setting a concrete date.
According to Stubb, Putin “respects, and in many ways fears, Donald Trump.”
Finland, sharing over 800 miles of border with Russia, abandoned its long-held neutrality two years ago by joining NATO, a move prompted by concerns over the conflict.
Stubb also expressed his belief that Ukraine should be permitted to join the military alliance “in the long run,” a view that differs from the Trump administration’s stance.
Following discussions and a series of , the Finnish president noted that European leaders are responding to American concerns about insufficient defense spending in Europe, with the continent relying too heavily on the United States.
“Europe needs to assume greater responsibility for its own security and defense,” Stubb asserted. “I believe we are actively doing so.”
He characterized the U.S.-European relationship as “in a transition” but affirmed: “We’re allies.
“The fact that there are occasional ideological differences between Europeans and Americans does not mean that we’re going to sever or divorce.”
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