US tightens the screws, new Russia sanctions coming - Stubb
Finnish President Alexander Stubb (Photo: Getty Images)
The US should push a new round of sanctions to paralyze Russian industry and finally force Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table, according to an interview with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Politico.
“Trump either goes for carrot or for stick. He tried the carrot in Alaska and in his phone conversation with Putin. And when he realized that the Russians are not going to move and they're not interested in peace, he [Trump] went for stick,” Stubb said.
According to him, the US is currently in stick mode, and the next step should be sanctions.
Who can influence Putin
“The only person Putin listens to is an oligarch. In that sense, if the oligarchs come to the conclusion in Russia that economically this is too complicated, then things might start to happen,” noted the Finnish president.
Stubb was asked whether Europe should try to engage directly with Putin, as suggested by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
“Whenever that moment [for direct talks] comes, which it will at some stage ... it'll have to be coordinated,” he said.
For now, according to Stubb, he is satisfied that Washington is taking the lead.
“If we can contribute ... if we can mediate, if we can have conversations with the Ukrainians, with the Americans, with the Europeans, I think that's good enough,” he said, adding that a fair and lasting peace is more important than Europe getting a photo opportunity.
Prospects for a ceasefire
Regarding the prospects for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Stubb is pessimistic.
“Failing all this and reading the room right now, having had conversations with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy on Friday, with my American friends and European friends over the past few weeks, I just don't see that [a ceasefire] in the cards,” he noted.
Stubb on Russian dictator Putin
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Stubb sharply mocked Putin and his achievements in an interview with the Associated Press.
He noted that the Russians have still not reached Kyiv, even as the fourth year of the war comes to a close. Stubb also reminded that the Soviet dictator Stalin, whom Russian propagandists sometimes compare to Putin, defeated Nazi Germany and took Berlin in four years, while Putin has not reached Kyiv and never will.
In the same interview, the Finnish president expressed the view that a ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before spring.
He also said that European allies should continue supporting Kyiv despite the recent corruption scandal.
