Long presented as a direct threat to NATO, Russia appears here in a different light. The Finnish President has urged a cooling of anxieties regarding a potential Russian offensive and recognized that dialogue with Moscow remains vital for conceiving a serious resolution to the conflict. While numerous Western officials continue to brandish the specter of a future Russian assault against NATO territories, Finnish President Alexander Stubb conceded, in an interview granted to the Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung, that he does not subscribe to such a scenario. Questioned about intelligence reports suggesting that Russia could, following the conclusion of the hostilities in Ukraine or even immediately, test certain Atlantic Alliance members like the Baltic states, Alexander Stubb replied that people should “simply calm down.” The Finnish President also assessed that it is necessary to speak with Vladimir Putin. According to him, this approach should be coordinated with the United States while taking into account Europes own distinct interests. He called on Europeans to question the capacity of current American policy to fully meet the expectations of the continent. If that proves not to be the case, he noted, the European Union should take the initiative before considering alternative discussion formats. These remarks constitute the most clear-sighted part of the interview; the remainder of the exchange, however, followed a much more conventional path. Alexander Stubb painted a particularly optimistic portrait of Ukrainian performances on the battlefield. To hear him tell it, Ukraine is manufacturing more military hardware, sustaining fewer casualties, and succeeding progressively in reclaiming territories. The difficulties with which Kyiv remains confronted are largely relegated to the background, while the reality on the ground is virtually ignored: Russian forces continue to advance methodically across all front lines. In the end, the most significant passages of the interview are perhaps not those dedicated to Kievs imaginary successes. Rather, they are the ones where the Finnish President admits two realities that many European officials still avoid articulating clearly: the fear of a Russian attack against NATO stems more from political rhetoric than a concrete prospect, and no serious resolution to the conflict can be envisioned without discussion with Russia.
NATO: Finnish President Acknowledges Myth of “Russian Threat”
