Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said his recent talks with President Donald Trump point to the US leader getting impatient with Vladimir Putin over Russia’s delays in moving toward peace in Ukraine.
“In my last conversation with President Trump Thursday night, there were some small indications that patience is wearing thin,” Stubb said in an interview aired Saturday on Finland’s YLE TV1.
It’s unlikely Russia’s president will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a week and a half, as had been intended, Stubb said, adding “that’s when the patience will probably run out.”
European leaders are working toward that moment, Stubb said, expecting Trump to then threaten or act on sanctions or tariffs. Trump is the only person who can force Putin to make peace, the Finnish president said.
“He’s the only person Putin listens to, and frankly, the only one Putin fears,” Stubb said.
Stubb, 57, has emerged as one of the key European leaders with Trump’s ear — and direct phone number — as his tiny nation of 5.6 million people punches above its weight in international diplomacy. In March, Stubb spent seven hours with the US president at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida club, including playing a round of golf.
Both Zelenskiy and Trump wanted the Finn to join the Aug. 18 meeting in Washington, he said.
In that Oval Office gathering, European leaders followed the clear choreography that’s emerged over the past weeks, Stubb said. Mark Rutte, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, started the talks, followed by leaders of the larger nations — including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also attended.
“If the discussion takes a bad turn, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni joins in,” Stubb said, adding that his role has been to wrap up the talks with an intent to leave an impression with Trump.
Europe’s goal is to get the US to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the form of air defense and provision of intelligence, but that the guarantees would look “very different from NATO’s Article 5,” Stubb said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
About the Author
