Finnish president warns that ‘a just peace’ in Ukraine is unlikely

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview published Wednesday that conditions for a just peace in Ukraine are unlikely to be met.

“The reality is that peace can be good, bad, or some kind of compromise. The reality is also that we Finns must prepare for the moment when peace comes, and that all the conditions for a just peace we’ve talked so much about over the past four years are unlikely to be fulfilled,” Stubb said in an interview with MTV Uutiset.

He added that “we are closer to peace today than yesterday” and that the coming days and weeks will show whether the negotiations yield any results.

Stubb’s interview comes on the heels of meetings between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which yielded no progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, and instead saw Putin blaming Europe for thwarting the peace process.

“We’re not planning to wage a war with Europe, but if Europe decides to start a war, we’re ready right now,” Putin said.

A 28-point plan prepared by Witkoff and Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev was criticized by European and Ukrainian officials as it heavily favored Moscow. The updated proposal watered down some of the more pro-Russian aspects of the initial plan.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Wednesday at a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting that Europe will soon be briefed on the latest peace talks but “apparently they have not been able to reach massive consensus last night in Moscow.”

“Russia is not willing to make any compromise,” she said, adding that any peace deal must not only stop killing, but also include terms that “make Ukraine strong enough to in the future resist not only invasion on the military side, but also any political interference, which is fully in the Russian playbook.”