Finnish President Alexander Stubb told The Guardian that countries that provide Ukraine with security guarantees should be prepared for a possible military conflict with Russia if hostilities resume in the future.
"Security guarantees, in fact, are a deterrent. This deterrent must be convincing, and in order for it to be convincing, it must be strong," Stubb believes.
According to the Finnish president, future participating countries will "not just scatter" promises, "and Russia knows this."
Stubb noted that the guarantees will come into force only after the conclusion of an agreement between Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, he said that Moscow would not have a veto over their format. According to Stubb, Russia should not influence the "sovereign decisions of an independent state."
"Therefore, it is not a question for me whether Russia will agree or not. Of course, he won't agree, but that's not the point," he said.
The politician added that US support is needed to provide guarantees of real weight, but now there is still no understanding whether the administration of President Donald Trump is ready to take on any obligations.
Western countries have been discussing guarantees for Ukraine for several months, the issue became one of the central issues at the meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Denmark at the end of August. The head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, said then that EU members would continue to support training missions for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and support the country's military industry. She noted that each country of the bloc will make a decision individually (now about the unwillingness to send the military to Ukraine is spoken by the authorities of Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia).
Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that Moscow will respect the guarantees that must be worked out for Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized, Moscow advocates that collective guarantees for Ukraine from the West should be reliable and developed on the basis of the principle of indivisibility of security for its neighbors.
The Kremlin stated that the security of Kiev could not be provided by Western troops, it would not suit Russia. Putin warned that if foreign military personnel appeared in a neighboring country now, they would become a "legitimate target for defeat." And if solutions are reached for a long—term peace, then I don't see any point in finding it," he said.