https://www.scmp.com/rss/522554/feed The latest news and top stories on Alexander Stubb. Known for his extensive career in Finnish and European politics, Stubb assumed the highest office in March 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs Minister and Minister for European Affairs and Trade. His background includes roles as a Member of the European Parliament, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank and Director of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham In the days after the United States and Israel tipped the Middle East into a new and catastrophic crisis with their attacks on Iran, European leaders were all over the map. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz both voiced support for regime change in Iran soon after the strikes started more than four weeks ago. Each of them also questioned the continued utility of the international rules-based order, while Merz’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348402/europes-crisis-tourism-how-iran-war-swallowed-eus-geopolitical-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348402/europes-crisis-tourism-how-iran-war-swallowed-eus-geopolitical-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 22:00:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has close ties with both US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, fears US-led Ukraine peace talks may be over, he said in an interview published on Thursday. “It may be due to the war in Iran, which is drawing a lot of attention away from the war in Ukraine. But it may also be that the negotiations have come to a halt because they’ve reached the end of the road and are not making any further progress,” Stubb said in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348027/finlands-president-says-ukraine-talks-may-be-end-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348027/finlands-president-says-ukraine-talks-may-be-end-road?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:40:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the four-year anniversary of the Ukraine war by accusing Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of trying to take over Ukraine, saying he had failed to achieve this and other war goals. In a video address that showed Ukrainians carrying out acts of resistance against Russian soldiers in the opening days of the conflict, Zelensky added that Ukraine was ready to do “everything” it could to secure a strong, lasting peace. Hundreds of thousands have died since Russia... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3344478/4-years-ukraine-conflict-zelensky-says-russias-putin-did-not-win-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3344478/4-years-ukraine-conflict-zelensky-says-russias-putin-did-not-win-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 10:29:35 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan Major powers must set an example as the world faces “multiple risks and challenges”, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Beijing on Tuesday. “Major powers in particular must take the lead in promoting equality, the rule of law, cooperation and integrity,” Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV. “China and Europe are partners, not rivals, with cooperation outweighing competition and consensus greater than differences,” he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341401/chinas-xi-jinping-says-major-powers-must-set-example-amid-worlds-risks-and-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341401/chinas-xi-jinping-says-major-powers-must-set-example-amid-worlds-risks-and-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 09:00:14 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Finnish police said on Wednesday they had seized a vessel suspected of damaging a telecommunications cable that runs between Helsinki and Tallinn in the Gulf of Finland several hours earlier. No details about the identity of the vessel were disclosed. The ship is suspected of being “responsible for the damage to the cable”, which is owned by Finnish telecoms group Elisa and located in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone, police said in a statement. Part of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338336/finland-police-say-ship-seized-after-cable-damage-baltic-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338336/finland-police-say-ship-seized-after-cable-damage-baltic-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 13:28:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ukraine has sent Washington an updated plan for ending Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump laid into European leaders in the latest sign of a growing transatlantic rift. A first US plan that involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as caving in to too many of Russia’s hardline demands, and has since been revised. A Ukrainian official briefed on the latest version said that it “takes... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3335972/ukraine-sends-revised-peace-plan-us-amid-flurry-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3335972/ukraine-sends-revised-peace-plan-us-amid-flurry-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:21:17 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press European officials said on Monday they were comforted by the outcome of discussions on US peace proposals for Ukraine that they had viewed as tilted in Russia’s favour, but they didn’t disclose details of the weekend talks and warned of a long road to peace. “The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social media about Sunday’s meeting in Switzerland between US and Ukrainian officials. US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333999/europe-demands-rework-us-peace-deal-russia-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333999/europe-demands-rework-us-peace-deal-russia-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:00:12 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service US President Donald Trump said Nato nations should shoot down Russian aircraft that violated their airspace and struck a more sympathetic tone on Ukraine’s chances of winning the war. He spoke as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following recent jet incursions that have alarmed allies. “Yes, I do,” Trump said when asked directly by a reporter if Nato allies should take down Russian aircraft during his meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326613/trump-tells-nato-nations-shoot-down-intruding-russian-planes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326613/trump-tells-nato-nations-shoot-down-intruding-russian-planes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 01:52:32 +0000 Robert Delaney,Finbarr Bermingham Robert Delaney,Finbarr Bermingham US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was brokering a meeting between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and their Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to be followed by a trilateral meeting that would include the US leader. The declaration followed back-to-back meetings at the White House, including Trump’s in-person meeting with the Ukrainian president, in which he also dangled the possibility of US troops supporting Ukraine. He also met jointly with Zelensky, European... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322287/speaking-white-house-trump-and-zelensky-say-trilateral-putin-may-follow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322287/speaking-white-house-trump-and-zelensky-say-trilateral-putin-may-follow?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Aug 2025 18:13:00 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham European leaders have vowed to turn the screws on Moscow after a high-stakes US-Russia summit in Alaska failed to result in a ceasefire in Ukraine. After a flurry of post-summit calls on Saturday, a coalition of Ukraine allies rallied around Kyiv, insisting that Russia could not veto its future membership of Nato or the European Union. Nor could there be limitations on “Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries” as part of any peace agreement, read a statement quickly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322098/european-leaders-rally-behind-ukraine-after-trump-putin-summit-fails-deliver-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322098/european-leaders-rally-behind-ukraine-after-trump-putin-summit-fails-deliver-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 11:49:41 +0000