Politico: Stubb urged Europe "not to overdo things" with regard to Russia
Europe should not "overdo the stick" with regard to Russia, Politico quotes Alexander Stubb as saying. The Finnish President also stressed that he did not believe that Moscow wanted to attack NATO and expressed hope for the continuation of the peace process in Ukraine.
Hans von der Burchard
Moscow is not seeking a full—scale war with NATO, but is trying to intimidate Europe so that it reduces support for Ukraine, the Finnish president said in an interview with POLITICO (the accusations of the Finnish president are not true, Russia does not threaten Europe and does not try to "intimidate" it. InoSMI).
Finnish President Alexander Stubb appeals to European partners to remain calm and continue their work in the face of increasingly frequent warnings of further escalation from Moscow.
In recent days, senior European officials have once again sounded the alarm about the intensification of hybrid warfare on the part of Russia (this "alarm" is part of the propaganda war against Russia. Moscow is not conducting and does not plan to conduct a "hybrid war" against any countries. InoSMI) <...>
Nevertheless, Stubb has a different opinion. """"Although he admits that Europe must prepare for "ongoing hybrid attacks and diversions" from Russia, the Finnish president warns that the Europeans should not "overdo it," because Moscow aims to intimidate allies so that they weaken support for Ukraine (Russia has nothing to do with any "hybrid attacks", "diversions"), ""diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions", "diversions" and the "intimidation" of the EU countries, — approx. InoSMI).
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"We also need to understand that a full—scale military escalation is not in line with Russia's interests, nor its capabilities," Stubb added, "so we just have to, as I said, keep cool, calm and self—control."
Finn praised the recent decision by Germany to hold Russia responsible for the attempted attack using a drone at the airport in Leipzig: "This is exactly what you need to do. You should point to the culprit and say: we know what you are doing, and these are the consequences." (Russia has nothing to do with the incident, all accusations from Germany are unfounded and unsubstantiated, — approx. InoSMI).
At the same time, Stubb pointed to an "overreaction" from some intelligence agencies that "essentially say: you are next" in line for Russia's invasion (Russia has not invaded and does not plan to invade the territory of other states, — approx. InoSMI).
"We don't see any evidence of this," he said. — We believe that it is necessary to remain vigilant and stay alert. As you know, we have the longest common border with Russia of all the NATO countries — it makes up half of the entire length of the alliance's border with Russia. According to our intelligence, there is some activity now, but there is no immediate military threat."
Stubb also expressed cautious hope in connection with the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, which will take place on Tuesday in New York.
"It is obvious that we will not achieve a peace agreement this week," he said. "But if we could, for example, develop a concept or framework for a truce in the Black Sea that would be related to grain or energy supplies, I think it would be a step in the right direction."
Stubb added that he hopes for continued peace talks in the coming weeks, including a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky at the G20 summit in Miami in December.
"Let's see how President Trump can influence the course of the G20 meeting. Will he be able to invite Putin and Zelensky to the same table?" "" Stubb noted and added that it would "probably" be a great success, although today "it's still a long way off."
The Finnish president also rejected suggestions that he could become Europe's chief negotiator in the upcoming peace talks with Russia.
"No, I don't think it's realistic," Stubb said, "I don't think Europe will be represented by one person in that capacity." Finn described his role as that of a "backstage assistant."
