'The UK is back': Finnish president praises Starmer's leadership announcing two nations are 'tied hip-to-hip on Nato'

31 March 2025, 17:34

The UK and Finland are "tied hip-to-hip" on NATO, Finnish president Alexander Stubb has said after meeting Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street.

Finland, which joined Nato in April 2023, has a border of more than 800 miles with Russia and applied to join the military alliance shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A red carpet was rolled out on the steps of No 10 on Monday afternoon for the Finnish president, who also met US President Donald Trump on Saturday.

Speaking from No 10, Mr Stubb said he and the Prime Minister “hit it off, in the beginning, straight off the bat".

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The Finnish President went on to hail the leadership shown by the UK since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

He said: "I'm really glad to see the leadership the UK is showing, not least in the war in Ukraine. And in many ways, in my mind, the UK is back, back in the game.

"We've had an interesting week in many ways, last week in Paris with the Coalition of the Willing, many phone calls with Zelensky, myself meeting President Trump on Saturday, and we continue the conversations today and try to find solutions together.

"But I think Finland and the UK are tied hip-to-hip and in so many places, including Nato and of course, JEF (Joint Expeditionary Force) which you guys founded."

Sir Keir described Mr Stubb as a “leader and a friend” as he hailed the UK’s “great relationship” with Finland.

He said: "I know that on all the important issues, whether it's Ukraine or other global issues, our thinking is very closely aligned.

"And certainly I think the closer we can work together on some of these challenges, the better."

Mr Stubb’s visit comes just days after he spent an afternoon playing golf with Donald Trump, with the US President describing him on Truth Social as a “very good player” and saying he looked forward to "strengthening the partnership between the United States and Finland".

Mr Stubb has praised Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine, calling him "the only person who can broker a peace, a ceasefire, because he's the only one that Putin is afraid of".

But peace in the region looks a long way off with Trump recently declaring he is "very angry and p***** off" with Vladimir Putin after the Russian president called for Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to step down.

Mr Trump said that comments made by Mr Putin on Friday, in which he called for a "transitional government" to take power in Ukraine in place of Mr Zelenskyy were "not going in the right direction".

It comes after a top Kremlin official also said that a ceasefire in Ukraine may not come into effect this year because the two sides were too far apart in their negotiating positions.

Mr Trump told NBC: “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia.

“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”

Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US appear to have stalled after bullish comments made initially by Mr Trump. Mr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of being "manipulative" and warned the US not to fall for the Kremlin's demands.

Russia rejected a full 30-day ceasefire, which had been supported by Ukraine and the US.

Instead, the two sides agreed to a limited halt to strikes on the Black Sea and energy infrastructure. Both Russia and Ukraine have already accused each other of violating this.