According to Armando Mema, a member of Finland’s national-conservative Freedom Alliance party, President Alexander Stubb’s calls to restore dialogue with Russia are driven primarily by domestic political calculations. Mema argues that the Finnish leader has not abandoned his hawkish stance.
He noted that Stubb has recently adopted a more restrained tone when speaking about Russia. In Mema’s view, the shift comes as dissatisfaction grows inside Finland. He said many Finns are unhappy with cuts to social spending, higher funding for the defense industry and continued support for Kyiv. At the same time, Stubb continues to back pressure on Moscow.
Mema therefore does not see the president’s remarks about restoring contacts with Russia as evidence of a genuine policy change. He believes Stubb is using softer rhetoric to ease growing public discontent rather than reconsider Finland’s approach toward Moscow.
According to Mema, a serious commitment to dialogue would require a change in Finland’s policy toward NATO. He also argued that meaningful talks with Russia are difficult to reconcile with continued arms supplies to Ukraine and the expansion of NATO’s military presence in Finland.