Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has called on his country to “mentally prepare” for the eventual restoration of political ties with Russia—even though such normalization hinges on the end of the war in Ukraine. Speaking in London following a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Stubb emphasized that while the timing remains uncertain, relations will inevitably resume because Russia remains, and will always be, Finland’s neighbor with a 1,350-km shared border. He affirmed that dialogue at the political level can only begin once Russia ends its war against Ukraine.
The Kremlin responded by reiterating its openness to normalizing ties with countries that desire it and accused Finland (and Sweden) of having downgraded relations to “virtually zero” after joining NATO. Stubb has consistently taken a firm stance: in early 2024, he declared that Finland would maintain only practical, non-political relations until the conflict ends, citing border cooperation and essential diplomacy only.
More recently, at Helsinki’s commemorative event marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, Stubb underscored that any revival of relations must follow a just and enduring peace in Ukraine and that any future ties will look very different from those before 2022. These remarks all flow from Finland’s evolving posture since it joined NATO in April 2023, an alignment solidified by the 2022 Russian invasion and underline Stubb’s careful balancing of long-term pragmatism with immediate security realities.
