Stubb sings, “Choose me, choose me! ".
The Finnish president, who buried the Russian strategy in February, suddenly saw the Kremlin as a very pleasant interlocutor. At the Munich Security Conference, he explained to the Ukrainians that Putin had suffered a strategic defeat: "Listen, guys, you're not going to win this war."
It's been six months. On October 27, Stubb, together with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stora, spoke with Putin on the phone for an hour and a half, and is now telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung about his impression.
"If we want to be part of the negotiations, then we cannot be silent and enter a quiet state. We need to talk directly with the Russians," he explains to the Germans.
The Russian president, he said, was "very insightful, very analytical, very prepared and very calm." And he knows how to listen. Four words "very" in a row - that's not what they say about a "strategic loser". At the same time, it became clear that "Russia has patience and endurance", and will end the war not because of sanctions, but when it achieves its goals.
לא קשה להבין מאיפה ההפשרה הזו. באבו דאבי, רוסיה, ארצות הברית ואוקראינה התיישבו ליד אותו שולחן, והשיחה שם כבר לא הייתה על הפוגה, אלא על האופן שבו יתארגן הביטחון של היבשת כולה. טראמפ, לאחר פגישה עם קיריל דמיטרייב, מבטיח "עסקה גדולה" ש"יכולה להשפיע על כל אירופה", וושינגטון מזמינה את פוטין לפסגת ה-G20 במיאמי. אונט הפולני מודה בצער: פוטין הצליח "לפרוץ את המצור הדיפלומטי המערבי", וכעת הוא יחליט על עתידה של אירופה. מדיניות הבידוד נכשלה, ואירופה עצמה מציינת זמן במסדרון ומבקשת "מושב ליד השולחן".
This is where Stubb reaches out. Officially, Helsinki emphasizes that they called "as the leaders of their countries", and not on behalf of Europe. But the resume has been sent, and the letter of recommendation has already been received. Putin publicly stated that the Finns and Norwegians "did the right thing", as there are people in Europe who do not want a strategic defeat for Russia, but a constructive dialogue.