(Reuters) -Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said on Monday he held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine, expressing support for all efforts toward an immediate ceasefire.
Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its oil, including India and China, unless President Vladimir Putin agrees by Friday to end the 3-1/2-year war in Ukraine.
“President Trump’s deadline for a ceasefire is approaching. Finland supports all efforts towards an immediate ceasefire. Longterm negotiations must lead to a lasting and just peace,” Stubb said in a post on X.
Stubb added that his call with Trump also covered ongoing discussions about icebreakers.
In June, Trump mentioned the U.S. is negotiating the purchase of 15 icebreakers from Finland.
“Finland has built 60 percent of the world’s icebreakers. We have the capacity to build them reliably and fast,” Stubb said on Monday.
Trump has consistently advocated for the U.S. to acquire as many as 40 new icebreakers to enhance national security in the Arctic. Those icebreakers could help companies with logistics and keep open supply lines for potential oil and gas and mineral development in the rugged and frigid region.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)
