President Alexander Stubb has revealed in an interview with the Defence Forces' Ruotuväki magazine that he speaks with US President Donald Trump on a weekly basis.
In the interview, Stubb states that he aims to strengthen Finland’s role in the Ukrainian peace process while clarifying for Trump the conditions required for achieving peace in Ukraine.
Stubb said he regularly updates Nato and EU leadership on these conversations and maintains close ties with the leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Norway.
"Finland doesn’t need to be at the centre of the peace process. Our goal is to help larger states see the bigger picture," Stubb told Ruotuväki.
Unusually close ties
Stubb has managed to establish a close relationship with Trump in a short period and has risen to an exceptionally prominent position on the global political stage for a Finnish president.
At the end of March, Stubb was invited to play golf with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
According to senior fellow Peter Rough of the Hudson Institute in Washington, this access gives Stubb a significant advantage over other world leaders, with his most notable achievement being the establishment of a direct line of communication with Trump.
"Stubb is a crucial channel in conveying messages to other Europeans and Ukraine based on his conversations with Trump. But most important is the time he has spent with the US president and the messages he has successfully conveyed to Washington," Rough explained.
The latest episode of Yle News' All Points North podcast travels back in time to hear what it was really like when Finland played host to East and West in the summer of 1975.
Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
