The Finnish president is discussing Baltic security and Russia’s war on Ukraine during visits by his Estonian and German counterparts.
Estonian President Alar Karis began a two-day state visit to Finland on Tuesday.
President Alexander Stubb and his wife, Suzanne Innes-Stubb, received the Estonian presidential couple at an official welcome ceremony on Tuesday morning in front of the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, just across from the Market Square.
The two presidents then held official talks inside the Palace. They focused on security in the Baltic Sea region and the Ukraine and Mideast wars as well as regional cooperation and transatlantic relations. They began a joint press conference around noon.
At the press conference, Stubb pointed out that Ukraine has shown progress on the frontline in recent months. He said that Europe should change its perspective from how much Ukraine needs Europe to how much Europe needs Ukraine.
“Ukraine has the largest, most effective and most modern army in Europe. I am pleased that the EU granted Ukraine a loan of 90 billion euros, and the support must be continued. At the same time, we must consider how much Europe, in turn, needs Ukraine, as a member of the EU or Nato,” Stubb said.
According to Karis, support for Ukraine must continue unwaveringly, while pressure on Russia continues, European defence is developed, and the relationship with the United States is maintained.
“In the future, Ukraine’s place is in the EU and Nato,” Karis declared.
EU must have a plan for Russia
Just before his trip, President Karis spoke with Yle in Tallinn. He pointed out that Finland’s and Estonia’s relationship with their eastern neighbour, Russia, will remain fraught for a long time, even after the war in Ukraine ends.
However, he said Europe needs to immediately draw up a plan for dealing with Russia, both in peace negotiations and in the post-war period.
“The European Union has invested a lot in Ukraine. It can’t be that when the time comes, the United States, Russia and perhaps a third country will be at the negotiating table, and not Europe at all,” he said.
“We need to have ideas and plans for how to deal with Russia. We need to start drawing up those plans now, because processes in the EU are time-consuming,” Karis noted.
His schedule on Tuesday includes a lunch hosted by Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov (NCP) and meetings with Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (Finns) and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP).
The presidential couples are also to visit the Oodi Central Library before a banquet at the Presidential Palace.
On Wednesday, the Estonian president and his spouse, Sirje Karis, will visit Hietaniemi Cemetery and the Kiasma art museum before a Finnish-Estonian business event.
President Karis will then deliver a speech at the National Defence University and visit Aalto University before a farewell reception.
Stubb’s last state visit to Estonia was nearly two years ago.
Next up: The Swedish king and German president
Similar topics will be on the agenda when Stubb hosts German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier next week. The two presidents will also meet at the Presidential Palace on Thursday 7 May.
Besides bilateral ties, they are to discuss support for Ukraine, comprehensive security and defence‑industrial cooperation, European security, transatlantic relations, and the situation in the Middle East.
In between those two visits in Helsinki, Stubb and Innes-Stubb will attend the 80th birthday celebrations of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden this Thursday. Having taken the throne in 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in the country’s history.
Stubb will also hold talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on foreign and security policy issues as well bilateral relations between the neighbouring Nordic states.
28 April, 1.13pm: Updated with comments at press conference.
