Alexander Stubb has compared the recent falling out between the US and Ukrainian leaders to a marital dispute
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky should go to a sauna to fix their relationship, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has suggested, likening their recent White House squabble to a dispute between spouses.
Last Friday, Zelensky traveled to Washington to sign a minerals deal with the US. However, his visit was cut short after he was asked to leave the White House after a heated exchange between himself, Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance. The Ukrainian leader was accused of ungratefulness, disrespecting the Oval Office and “gambling with World War III” by refusing to work towards peace with Russia.
Reacting to the incident in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Stubb stated that “it always takes two to tango” and noted that “sometimes in marriage or in other types of relationships, you go into your corner and sulk.”
However, he said that eventually, both sides have to talk, shake hands and move on.
Stubb suggested that to patch things up, Zelensky and Trump should act “Finnish” and “take a deep breath, take a cold bath, a sauna, breathe and come back to the negotiating table.”
The Finnish president said the way forward is for the two leaders to resume talks and finalize the minerals deal, as this would likely become the “tipping point for a bigger deal towards a ceasefire and then towards peace negotiations.”
Following the White House debacle, Zelensky maintained that he did nothing wrong while Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of not actually wanting peace with Moscow and seeking to exploit US support for his own gain.
According to Fox News, citing an unnamed US official, the White House is now demanding that Zelensky issue a public apology for his demeanor on Friday before resuming negotiations on the rare earths deal.
Meanwhile, several US media outlets have reported that Washington has suspended funding for any new arms sales to Ukraine and is considering freezing weapon shipments to the country from American stockpiles.
