Donald Trump is the only one who can force Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table over the war in Ukraine, Finland's president has told the BBC.
Alexander Stubb also said that Finland would never recognize occupied Crimea as part of Russia, and that he wanted to ensure Ukraine became an EU and hopefully NATO member once the war was over.
BBC Radio 4's Today programme spoke to President Stubb ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with Trump at the White House on Friday, where he told the US president: I think we can end this war with your help.
Meanwhile, Trump mentioned that Putin has agreed to meet face-to-face with him in Hungary.
Stubb said that Trump had once asked him over a game of golf whether he could trust Putin; Stubb's answer was no. He emphasized, What we need is not so much the power of the carrot to convince Russia to the negotiating table, it's more of the stick that will bring them.
Stubb noted that Russia's economy is suffering, suggesting that economic threats should be employed to persuade Russia to engage in negotiations, including using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
He remains optimistic about the prospects of peace, stating that Trump may have advanced peace negotiations more in the last eight months of his presidency than in the previous three years. President Stubb urged a pragmatic approach, aiming for immediate ceasefire efforts followed by a longer-term peace resolution.