Finland's President proposes new location for Trump–Putin meeting
Photo: Alexander Stubb (Getty Images)
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has proposed a new venue for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, Yle reports.
According to him, the leaders of the countries could hold talks during the November G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Finnish head of state also pays special attention to nuclear weapons during his speech. He recalls that Trump had ordered nuclear weapons to be tested in response to tests by Russia and North Korea. NATO also recently held its annual exercises.
The President notes that the North Atlantic Alliance provides nuclear protection for Finland, as the US, France, and Britain have nuclear weapons.
"Previously, we, little Finland, had to take care of this ourselves, but the situation in the world was different then. Now we participate in all key structures," Stubb says.
The Finnish President also recalls that Russia's war continues and that Helsinki continues to support Ukraine.
"By supporting Ukraine, we gain a lot. Ukraine's understanding of the peculiarities of modern warfare gives us a lot," he concludes.
Background
On October 16, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin announced after a telephone conversation their intention to hold a personal meeting within two weeks. Budapest was chosen as the venue for the possible summit.
Preparations for the talks were to be coordinated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. However, Trump soon canceled the meeting.
According to media reports, the reason was that Russia had not changed its maximalist demands regarding the conditions for ending the war in Ukraine. Trump himself publicly stated that he was not going to waste his time.
Shortly thereafter, on the night of October 23, the US imposed new sanctions against Russia's largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. At the same time, the US Treasury Department called on Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire.
President Trump said he was ready for a new meeting with Putin, but only on condition that a real agreement was reached to end the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin, in turn, confirmed that Putin was allegedly ready for negotiations, but no specific date for the summit had yet been set.
