Stubb: Ukraine’s Security Guarantees Mean Europe Must Be Ready to Confront Russia

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has said that any credible security guarantees for Ukraine will require European nations to be prepared to confront Russia if it launches renewed military aggression against Kyiv.

The Gaze reports this, referring to The Guardian.

Ahead of his trip to the UN General Assembly in New York, Stubb described security guarantees as a deterrent that only works if backed by real strength. 

“Security guarantees in essence are a deterrent. That deterrent has to be plausible and in order for it to be plausible it has to be strong,” he said.

The Finnish president stressed that Moscow will have no say in shaping such guarantees. While they would take effect only after a future agreement between Kyiv and Moscow, Stubb underlined that Russia has “absolutely no voice in the sovereign decisions of an independent state.”

Stubb also voiced skepticism that Russian President Vladimir Putin will seek negotiations in the near term. 

“This war is too big for him to lose. He has made probably the biggest strategic mistake in recent history, certainly since the end of the cold war, and he has failed in all of his strategic aims. It’s a question when he comes to the negotiating table, hopefully sooner rather than later, but right now I’m quite pessimistic,” he stated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, by contrast, has argued that security guarantees should be put in place without waiting for the war’s formal conclusion, noting there may never be a final peace document.

As The Gaze reported earlier, in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Finnish President Alexander Stubb discussed the security situation, increasing pressure on Russia, and Ukraine's European integration on September 11.