INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Finland must mentally prepare to ultimately restore relations with Russia after the war in Ukraine ends, Finnish President Alexander Stubb
said Monday during talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.We in Finland should psychologically get ready for the reality that
eventually, relations with Russia will begin to recuperate, Stubb told press reporters in London, according to the news outlet Ilta-Sanomat
Nothing eliminates the reality that Russia is and will constantly be Finlands neighbor.However, he worried that any thaw in Russian-Finnish
relations would depend on Russia ending its war versus Ukraine and Finlands internal dispute on how to proceed.Stubb, who got here in London
after meeting United States President Donald Trump in Florida, has advocated for Russia and Ukraine to accept a complete ceasefire on April
The Kremlin responded to Stubbs remarks on Tuesday, saying President Vladimir Putin was open to mutually advantageous and respectful ties
with Finland if Helsinki sought the same.However, Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov implicated Finland and Sweden, which signed up with
NATO in 2023 in reaction to Russias full-scale intrusion of Ukraine, of dragging the United States -led alliances infrastructure onto their
territory.We had no problem with [Finland and Sweden], Peskov said, accusing both nations of lowering relations to zero.Stubb stated in
London on Monday that European leaders recently discussed when and how to resume negotiations with Putin however declined to share
information publicly.Finland, which shares the European Unions longest border with Russia at 1,340 kilometers (830 miles), closed its border
crossings in December 2023 following a surge in asylum seekers.
