Finnish President Alexander Stubb said a ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely by spring 2025 and urged European allies not to reduce support for Kyiv despite a corruption scandal. AP reports.
Stubb said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should quickly deal with accusations of kickbacks and embezzlement, as the scandal plays into russia's hands. At the same time, he called on EU leaders to increase financial and military assistance to Ukraine.
"I am not very optimistic about achieving a ceasefire or starting peace talks at least this year," Stubb said, adding that it would be good if "at least some progress" was made by March.
He believes that three issues are crucial on the way to ending the war: security guarantees for Ukraine, restoring its economy and reaching some understanding on territorial claims.
To achieve peace, according to Stubb, the US and Europe should increase pressure on russia and putin to change his strategic thinking. Putin, as the Finnish President stated, still wants to deny the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine - these goals have not changed since the start of the full-scale war.
Stubb suggested using hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen russian assets in Europe as tools of pressure.
As a reminder, President Trump once again stated his confidence that the fighting in Ukraine will cease in the near future.
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