Finland's President: Russia Will Not Attack NATO

Russia has no interest in attacking any NATO country. That’s what Finland’s president Alexander Stubb claims; partly in response to a statement from the military alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte.

It is in an interview with Fox News that the Finnish president dismisses the war alarm. The background is that Mark Rutte earlier this month portrayed it as if Europe is facing a new world war.

“We are Russia’s next target!” he said during a visit to Berlin.

“Warmongers of the Deep State”

Rutte’s statement made major headlines. That in turn prompted the US National Security Advisor Tulsi Gabbard to speak out on social media against the “warmongers of the deep state and their propaganda media” and claim that they are trying to “undermine President Trump’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.”

The US’s new security strategy, which was announced in November, does not designate Russia as either an adversary or enemy. And Gabbard argues that Russia can’t even manage to conquer Ukraine, let alone Europe.

A conclusion which Alexander Stubb appears to share.

“NATO’s determination is so strong that there is no interest for Russia to attack,” he tells Fox News, pointing out that things are going badly for Russia in Ukraine.

“They aren’t achieving their strategic goals either,” he says.

Vladimir Putin with Valery Gerasimov. Photo: Kremlin

Closer to Peace Than Ever

The Finnish president believes that the reason Mark Rutte and Tulsi Gabbard seem to see things so differently is because they are “speaking to different audiences.”

“What Secretary General Mark Rutte is doing is fueling support to increase defense spending in NATO countries. In other words, in countries that don’t have the level of military strength we have here in Finland,” he says.

At the same time, claims the Finnish president, a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is approaching. The parties are “almost there,” he says.

“We are probably closer than we have ever been during this war. Over the past three or four weeks, Trump’s special envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, have been working around the clock to bring the two parties closer together,” says Alexander Stubb.