Time to start peace talks between Ukraine and Russia is now, - Finnish President Stubb
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine "have reached a point where they need to start". He also called the desire of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to see the Russian side at the second peace summit "the right way to play the cards".
According to Censor.NET, Stubb said this in an interview with Le Monde.
He noted that Ukraine is now in a much stronger position than it was two months ago. The defence forces are receiving the equipment and funds necessary to maintain their positions.
"We are no longer in a situation close to the desperation we were in in the spring with the blocking of US aid and European difficulties in getting equipment to Kyiv. There is also no Russian breakthrough. According to our intelligence, Russia is not advancing, and its losses are even greater than before," the Finnish president explained.
Stubb also stressed the need to distinguish between a possible discussion process and peace. According to him, the start of negotiations does not mean that concessions must be made. He noted that the President of Ukraine needs four elements for the success of this process.
"The first concerns the territories currently occupied by Russia, and this will be his decision alone. Second, Ukraine needs security guarantees. And here we can help through bilateral agreements and a possible path to NATO and, of course, the European Union. Third, justice is needed to prosecute Russian war criminals. And finally, Zelenskyy needs support to rebuild his country," Stubb said.
The President of Finland is convinced that in order to achieve peace, the aggressor country must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, but this cannot be seen as a precondition.
"We have to convince the Global South that what Russia is doing is imperialism. It is in their interest to put an end to this conflict. If Xi Jinping wanted to stop the war, he could call Putin and say, 'Enough is enough,'" the politician added.
In addition, Stubb added that China could do a lot to stop the fighting, as it has a "strong position against Russia".
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China supports the start of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, but the conditions and time have not yet come.
