Ukraine negotiations may be over, says Finnish president

ISTANBUL

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb on Thursday warned that US-led negotiations between Russia and Ukraine may have stalled.

Speaking to European media ahead of a Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in Helsinki, Stubb said there have been no indications of further meetings following three rounds of negotiations held over the winter, according to the Norwegian daily VG.

“It may be due to the war in Iran, which is drawing attention away from Ukraine,” Stubb said. “But it could also be that negotiations have reached the end of the road and cannot move forward.”

Stubb, who maintains close contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump, suggested the talks were increasingly constrained by disagreements over territory, particularly in the Donetsk region.

“I believe the American negotiators have done everything they could,” he said, adding that “the major problem is that I do not believe Russia wants peace.”

His remarks come as European leaders gather in Helsinki for the JEF summit, a UK-led security framework involving Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as the Netherlands. The group focuses on rapid military cooperation outside NATO’s collective defense mechanisms.

Zelenskyy is expected to participate in the summit remotely, while Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store will attend in person. Security guarantees for Ukraine are set to be a central topic of discussion.

Stubb said that in the absence of renewed negotiations, increasing pressure on Moscow would become a priority. However, he warned that broader geopolitical developments could complicate that effort.

“With the war in Iran and the Americans’ decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil sales, things are not moving in the direction we would like,” he said.

He also underlined Europe’s growing role in supporting Ukraine, noting that European countries now provide the bulk of economic and military assistance.

“Europe is in a better place now than a year ago,” Stubb said. “We provide almost all the support to Ukraine and have enabled it to expand its own defense production.”

Despite this, he acknowledged uncertainty over the next phase of the conflict and diplomacy.

“We have a starting point and a better understanding of Russian tactics,” he said, “but how this will proceed, I do not know.”