President of Finland Alexander Stubb spoke about the need to begin peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, noting that “the point has been reached when they need to begin.”
This information was reported by Le Monde, reports “URA-Inform” .
He also supported the desire of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to invite the Russian side to the second peace summit, calling it “playing the cards right”.
Stubb believes that Ukraine is now in a much stronger position than it was two months ago, thanks to the equipment and funds it has received to bolster its defenses.
“We are no longer in the situation of near despair that we were in the spring with the blocking of American aid and Europe's difficulties in delivering equipment to Kyiv. There is also no Russian breakthrough. According to our intelligence, Russia is not making any progress, and its losses are even greater than before,” the Finnish president explained.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, when asked about the need for negotiations or territorial concessions from Ukraine, stressed the importance of distinguishing between the start of the negotiation process and peace itself. According to him, the start of negotiations does not necessarily require concessions. Stubb noted that for the process to be successful, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky needs four key elements.
«The first concerns the territories that are currently occupied by Russia, and this will only be his decision. Secondly, Ukraine needs security guarantees. And here we can help through bilateral agreements and a possible path to NATO and, of course, the European Union. Thirdly, justice is needed to prosecute Russian war criminals. And finally, Zelensky needs support to rebuild his country, Stubb said.
He also expressed confidence that in order to achieve peace, the aggressor country must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, but this should not be seen as a precondition. In addition, Stubb emphasized that China, with its strong position in relation to Russia, could play a significant role in stopping the hostilities.
Recall that earlier it was reported that Budanov made a statement about the end of the war: “Global issues are being resolved right now.”