Unexpected impact: Finnish president says Iran war could aid Ukraine
Finnish President Alexander Stubb (photo: Getty Images)
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Ukraine might gain an advantage from the ongoing Middle East conflict, as the fighting could disrupt military cooperation between Russia and Iran and potentially influence peace negotiations, according to Bloomberg.
Stubb says that US and Israeli strikes on Iran, along with Tehran's counterattacks on US bases in the region, mean that "Iran and Russia are not able to cooperate right now on missiles or the defense industry."
He added that the global focus shifting to Iran could create opportunities for diplomacy in ending the war in Ukraine, giving "space for the negotiators to come up with something without the limelight."
The Finnish president also noted that the war in Ukraine might have ended sooner if Kyiv had received the same level of air defense support as countries in the Persian Gulf experienced during the first seven days of the Middle East conflict.
President Stubb also commented on Russia and the Middle East. He noted that Russia already has two factories producing Shahed drones using Iranian technology. He added that a likely negative outcome of the Middle East conflict is rising oil prices, "which is basically going to feed the Russian war machine."
Middle East conflict: Impact on Ukraine peace talks
Since the start of 2026, Ukraine, the US, and Russia have held three rounds of trilateral peace talks to end the war.
This year has seen the most active efforts to achieve peace so far. Despite unresolved territorial issues, the parties are finding compromises in other areas, and progress continues.
The fourth round of talks, expected to bring the sides closer to an agreement, was scheduled for March 4–5 in Abu Dhabi but was postponed indefinitely due to the situation in Iran.
At the same time, in recent days, comments from the White House have again highlighted Ukraine.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump still believes a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia is possible. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff also announced that new results are expected in the coming weeks.
In addition, on March 7, Trump stated that he has ended eight wars, and the ninth—the war in Ukraine—is also approaching completion.
