By Abida Kahlun
Bureau Chief Helsinki
Snn News Finland
Helsinki/Ankara Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has said he personally favors fast-tracking Ukraine’s entry into Ukraine NATO , but admitted the alliance is nowhere near ready to make that call.
Stubb’s Comments Before the Ankara Summit
Ahead of a Ukraine NATO leaders’ meeting in Ankara, Stubb told the Financial Times that he would push Ukraine’s membership through right away if the decision rested with him alone, though he conceded the politics simply aren’t there yet. He framed the relationship as mutual, arguing the alliance stands to gain from Kyiv just as much as Kyiv stands to gain from joining.
Why Membership Talks Are on Hold
According to Stubb, formal accession talks have been shelved until there’s some kind of ceasefire in place. In the meantime, he’s pushing a workaround: tying Ukraine’s defense industry more tightly to Ukraine NATO members’ supply chains and standards, which he sees as the quickest path toward alliance-level cooperation without full membership.
Kyiv’s Improved Position on the Battlefield
Stubb pointed to Ukraine’s expanded drone and missile campaign against targets inside Russia as a major factor shifting the balance. He argued the strikes have rattled Moscow and pushed Washington to reassess its read on the war, ultimately giving Ukraine more leverage heading into any negotiations.
He also singled out Ukraine’s drone and missile programs as more advanced than what most Ukraine NATO countries currently field, going so far as to rank Ukraine at the top globally in terms of modern combat capability.
Not Every Ally Was Immediately On Board
Stubb acknowledged that China and a handful of NATO members were initially uneasy about the deep-strike campaign, worried it could provoke a bigger Russian response. Even so, he said the alliance has largely converged on one view: the pressure campaign against Russia needs to keep intensifying.
Background
Russia’s 2022 invasion pushed Finland to abandon decades of military neutrality, and it formally joined Ukraine NATO in April 2023. Stubb a former Finnish prime minister and foreign minister with a long résumé in EU politics took office as president in 2024 and has since positioned himself as one of Europe’s more vocal advocates for Ukraine.
NATO summit in Ankara
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