Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview published Wednesday that conditions for a just peace in Ukraine are unlikely to be met. “The reality is that peace can be good, bad, or some kind of compromise. The reality is also that we Finns must prepare for the moment when peace comes, and that all the conditions for a just peace we’ve talked so much about over the past four years are unlikely to be fulfilled,” Stubb said in an interview with MTV Uutiset. He added that “we are closer to peace today than yesterday” and that the coming days and weeks will show whether the negotiations yield any results. Stubb’s interview comes on the heels of meetings between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which yielded no progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, and instead saw Putin blaming Europe for thwarting the peace process. “We’re not planning to wage a war with Europe, but if Europe decides to start a war, we’re ready right now,” Putin said. A 28-point plan prepared by Witkoff and Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev was criticized by European and Ukrainian officials as it heavily favored Moscow. The updated proposal watered down some of the more pro-Russian aspects of the initial plan. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Wednesday at a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting that Europe will soon be briefed on the latest peace talks but “apparently they have not been able to reach massive consensus last night in Moscow.” “Russia is not willing to make any compromise,” she said, adding that any peace deal must not only stop killing, but also include terms that “make Ukraine strong enough to in the future resist not only invasion on the military side, but also any political interference, which is fully in the Russian playbook.”

BRUSSELS — Steamy soft power is taking a breather. EU diplomats looking to network while sweating it out will be disappointed for the next few months, as the famed sauna in Finland’s permanent representation in Brussels is closed for renovations. Long known as the hottest ticket in town among Finns in Brussels, the perm rep’s sauna has inspired copycats in the Berlaymont and in NATO HQ, and has hosted a bevy of ministers and diplomats, among them Finland’s now-President Alexander Stubb and former Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen. A spokesperson for the Finnish perm rep confirmed that the sauna is closed for renovations, but they did not have an exact timeline for when it will reopen. Diplomats who make regular use of the facilities told POLITICO they expect it will be closed for around a year. “The Finnish Diplomatic Sauna Society is very much alive and well this year,” the spokesperson told POLITICO. “We’ll be making use of alternative saunas, including the one at the ambassador’s residence,” they said. For those without diplomatic privileges, the public sauna in the Finnish Seamen’s Mission in nearby Rue Jacques de Lalaing also “offers an excellent sauna experience,” the spokesperson said. Most Finnish diplomatic buildings have a sauna on the premises. So important is a good sweat to Finnish politics and diplomacy that the country’s Sauna Society gives an annual award, the Löylynhenki Award, for promoting Finnish sauna culture. The Finnish foreign ministry picked up the award in 2011 on behalf of “Finnish sauna diplomacy and sauna diplomats.”

The Helsinki District Court on Friday placed a man in his 30s under a one-year extended restraining order for stalking former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. According to the court’s decision, the man allegedly loitered in Marin’s stairwell and attempted to enter her apartment, Finnish media reported. The defendant denied he was the person accused of being in the proximity of Marin’s home. The restraining order remains in effect until January 2026. Under its terms, the man is prohibited from contacting Marin or moving in specific areas. In Finland, restraining orders are typically issued to protect individuals from harassment, threats or unwanted contact. They can be requested to prevent the subject of the order from approaching or communicating with the petitioner. According to Finnish tabloid Iltalehti, police suspect that the man stalked Marin from the beginning of December last year until the Christmas holidays. The man had been previously charged with stalking in another case, Iltalehti reported. Marin served as Finland’s leader from 2019 to 2023, becoming the world’s youngest female prime minister. After losing an election in April 2023, she stepped down as chair of her Social Democratic Party and later joined the Tony Blair Institute as a strategic counselor.

Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has filed for a restraining order against a 35-year-old man, the Helsinki District Court confirmed Thursday. The case is scheduled to be heard Friday morning, the court told local media, although no details were provided about the reasons for Marin’s request. Restraining orders in Finland are typically issued to protect individuals from harassment, threats or unwanted contact. They can be requested to prevent the subject of the order from approaching or communicating with the petitioner. The man’s identity has not been disclosed. However, according to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, he is not a public figure in Finland According to the paper, the Helsinki District Court issued an extended restraining order against the same individual at the end of last year to protect a woman in her 30s. Marin served as prime minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023, leading a female-majority cabinet and making history as the world’s youngest female prime minister. After narrowly losing an election in April 2023, Marin stepped down as chair of her Social Democratic Party and in September that year joined the Tony Blair Institute as a strategic counsellor.