Ukraine must remain sovereign, able to join NATO, EU: Finnish premier

ATHENS

The Finnish premier said Ukraine must remain sovereign and able to join NATO and the EU, according to local media.

Commenting after a cross-party meeting with party leaders, Petteri Orpo said: “The goal cannot be any other result (from the peace negotiations) than for Ukraine to be a sovereign country that can apply for membership in the EU and NATO, if it wishes to do so," public broadcaster YLE reported.

Europe should be involved in the peace talks, and NATO’s defense capabilities should not be weakened as a result of an eventual peace agreement, he added.

"Russia is, and will be, a long-term and serious security threat to Europe," Orpo said, adding that even achieving peace in Ukraine would not change this.

Leaders from several major European countries gathered in Paris on Monday at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss transatlantic relations, the situation in Ukraine, possible peace negotiations, and security in Europe.

US-European relations deteriorated this month after US President Donald Trump initiated direct discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine peace talks without European involvement. At the weekend Munich Security Conference, Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, confirmed that Europeans would not be invited to planned US-Russia talks on Ukraine peace.

Adding to the tension, US Defense Secretary Hegseth suggested that European countries, not the US, should provide peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. Hegseth specifically stated that any such deployment should be non-NATO and would not be covered under Article 5 (on NATO’s collective defense), stressing that US troops would not be part of any security guarantee arrangements.