Finland demands Trump give Putin strict deadline for Ukraine peace deal
Alexander Stubb, the president of the Nordic country, urged Trump to give Putin a short window in which to agree to a peace deal, as tensions continue to rise around the globe, with NATO wary of Putin continuing his war of expansion
The president of Finland has told Donald Trump he should give Putin a maximum three-week window to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire deal.
Alexander Stubb backed the US president's mission to stop the war, saying Trump was “probably the only person in the world who can mediate” a lasting ceasefire. However, he said it was now time to set boundaries for negotiation amid fears Putin could use the period during discussions to strike further into Ukraine.
He told Fox News: “We need a ceasefire, and we need a date for the ceasefire. And that date should be the 20th of April… If President Putin — who is the only one who is not accepting a ceasefire, because the Americans want it, the Europeans want it, the Ukrainians want it — if he doesn't oblige by the ceasefire, then we should go for a colossal set of sanctions coming from the United States and Europe.”
The suggestion comes as Russia snubbed a recent ceasefire proposal from the United States amidst escalating tensions in the Ukraine conflict. "We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can't accept it all in its current form," stated Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, as reported by Russian state media.
Ryabkov insisted that Moscow requires Washington to address what it perceives as the fundamental causes of the conflict.
But these were not spelled out in detail. The minister went on, per International Affairs magazine: “As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict." Ryabkov added: "It is completely absent, and that must be overcome."
The conflict escalated when Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which has since resulted in three years of intense combat and significant casualties for both nations. President Trump condemned the inaction of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday for their failure to negotiate peace.
He criticized them for not fulfilling promises, which Trump had emphasized during his election campaign.
Trump warned of increasing sanctions on Russia to force their acceptance of the ceasefire.
He also declared that Zelenskyy reneged on a deal granting the US access to Ukraine's valuable mineral resources. On Tuesday, Andril Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, said consultations are ongoing between the two countries regarding the contentious agreement.
Put has since initiated the largest conscription drive since the war in Ukraine began nearly three years ago, aiming to recruit more soldiers. Putin has ordered the conscription of 160,000 Russian men aged 18-30, with the goal of completing the new order by July 15. This represents a steady increase in conscription numbers, from 134,500 in 2022 to 150,000 in 2024.
In September, Putin signed a decree to expand the army by 180,000, citing alleged threats to the Russian border, despite the Russian military suffering its largest losses since World War II. Putin's latest move comes after Zelenskyy accused Russia of prolonging the war to hinder peace efforts.
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"According to our intelligence, Russia is preparing for new offensives in Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions," Zelensky stated, adding: "They are dragging out negotiations and trying to drag the US into endless, meaningless discussions about fake conditions to buy time and then try to seize even more land."
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