WATCH: Finland President Stubb backs India’s role in ending Russia-Ukraine war

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has said that India can play a significant role in ending the Russia-Ukraine war, given its relations with both Moscow and Kyiv.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost Managing Editor Palki Sharma, President Stubb said “Definitely. And here is where we come. You might know that I’m a great admirer of India, and I think India will be our next superpower — right up there with the United States and China.”

Praising India’s leadership, Stubb added “In taking that security political role, whether it’s Prime Minister Modi or Foreign Minister Jaishankar, it’s a strategic thinking. What India is obviously doing right now is having a multifactoral foreign policy, which is fully understandable.”

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“I have said this in the General Assembly twice now. I want the UN Security Council to be expanded. Its membership should be at least doubled. It is wrong that countries like India are not in the UN Security Council. I have suggested that we should have at least one member from Latin America, two from Africa, and two from Asia. Why? Because I believe in multilateralism and because I think that if players like India don’t feel that they have agency or skin in the game in the United Nations, the institution is going to continue to weaken,” Stubb told Firstpost.

He said India’s balanced approach allows it to maintain good relations with all major powers. “You have to keep good relations with Russia, you want to have good relations with the United States, and of course with the European Union and China as well.”

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Calling for the involvement of major global players to help end the conflict, Stubb said, “I think we need to get the bigger players involved in this and for me, the bigger players in this case would be President Xi, Prime Minister Modi and President Ramaphosa because you have an understanding of what colonial wars mean. For you to come in and mediate and help out, I think would be very useful.”