The presidents of Estonia and Finland, Alar Karis and Alexander Stubb, stated at a joint press conference in Helsinki that there will inevitably come a time when the need to resume dialogue with Russia will arise.
ERR correspondent Arni Alandi asked a question about Alar Karis's statement regarding the prospects of dialogue with the Russian Federation. Last Monday, the president suddenly stated to Helsingin Sanomat that Europe should prepare for the resumption of contacts with Russia after the war in Ukraine ends.
"This is a very good question. It’s a question we have been grappling with since the beginning of the war, but apparently more seriously in the last two years. For example, in the 'coalition of goodwill' or anywhere else, there are no discussions where we do not touch on the topic of who, when, where, and how should communicate with Russia. From a European perspective, we have delegated this role to the United States. And due to the war in Iran, this conversation is currently on the back burner. So I completely agree with President Karis that there will come a time when we must open channels of communication with Russia. The question is when. Will it be before the end of the war or after? But an even more important question is who will do it and with what mandate," Alexander Stubb replied.
"My starting position is that we should do this collectively and with a mandate. In other words, so that no one in Europe starts acting unilaterally. We have seen examples of that, and they usually do not work. And the most fundamental question in all of this that we must ask ourselves is: in what direction will America’s relations with Russia go compared to the direction Europe’s relations with Russia are heading," he commented.
Stubb added that regardless of what happens in Russia, it will still remain a neighbor to Finland and Estonia. He emphasized that relations between Finland and Russia cannot be as they were before 2008, when Russia attacked Georgia, before 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, or before 2022, when the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine began.
"So these relations will be different. But there will be some relations. After all, that is what neighbors must do," Stubb said.
Alar Karis added that communication may take place after the war ends, provided that Russia changes.
"The situation has changed; it will no longer be the same. But Russia is our neighbor. If you open a map, you will see that it is next to us. We are not going anywhere, and Russia, apparently, is not going anywhere either. Therefore, we must find a way to coexist with it. Not to negotiate, but to communicate. That is what neighbors do, even if the neighborhood is unfortunate. There is no escaping that," Karis said.
"All wars eventually end. Even the Hundred Years' War ended. This means that we must be ready to start such communication," Karis stated.
