"My war is Ukraine" — Finnish President on Trump, Iran Conflict, and Global Risks
Finnish President Staffan Stubb told Politico that he hopes Trump will fulfill his promise to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has not lost interest in peace mediation.
"I hope it's not the case. Right now, he is completely focused on the Iran issue... The Iran war, for understandable reasons, has diverted attention from the situation in Ukraine. In my view, peace talks have currently stalled—this may be due to Iran, or perhaps because negotiations have reached an impasse."
When asked whether European allies should join forces with the U.S. as Trump demands to address the situation in the Persian Gulf, Stubb responded with a directness reminiscent of Trump’s own style: Ukraine is not America’s problem.
"That might sound cold, but Iran is not my war. My war is Ukraine."
The report notes that the current risk lies in these conflicts potentially escalating into a Third World War within months or years. While Stubb dislikes the term "world war," he does not deny the existence of danger.
"Talking about a world war is too large a concept; at this stage of international relations, human reason might simply be incapable of comprehending such scale. All I can say is that since the end of the Cold War, many conflicts have been localized—but now we are seeing them escalate into regional wars. We must work tirelessly around the clock to de-escalate and prevent these conflicts from spreading further. The problem is, once there are no international rules or norms to constrain behavior, conflict can break out at any moment."
Although the risk of two major wars breaking out simultaneously is real, President Stubb also believes Ukraine still has a chance to win new allies—not just in the Persian Gulf, but even in the United States—because Kyiv can share crucial drone warfare experience with countries hit by Iranian attacks.
"I hope Americans can understand: for them, Ukrainians matter more than Russians. Russia is their main adversary. In that sense, the situation could tilt in a favorable direction."
Original: toutiao.com/article/1860823584361472/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.