President Alexander Stubb met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, the heads of state announced in a joint Instagram post.
The post said in Ukrainian, Finnish and English that Finland supports Ukraine and will continue to work to protect Ukrainians and achieve a just peace.
Stubb and Zelensky are attending the opening of the 79th meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York this week. Both are to address the Assembly on Wednesday. Stubb's speech is scheduled for 10.30pm Finnish time.
To Ankara on 1 October
Also on Wednesday, Stubb’s office announced that he will make a working visit to Turkey next Tuesday, 1 October.
Stubb will meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital, Ankara, followed by a joint press conference.
Besides bilateral issues, the two are to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Palestine as well as cooperation within Nato – an issue that was strained by Ankara’s lengthy delays in approving Finland’s and Sweden's 2022 applications to join the alliance.
Also on the agenda will be Finland's Chairpersonship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which begins in January. The 57-nation group traces its roots to the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Helsinki.
Stubb will also address a seminar honouring the late Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and marking the centenary of a friendship treaty between Finland and Turkey. The seminar will launch a global series of discussions on Ahtisaari's legacy and the future of peace mediation. It will be co-hosted by the CMI Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation and the Finnish Foreign Ministry along with Bilkent University, a non-profit private institution established 40 years ago in Ankara.
Stubb will also meet with the Speaker of Turkish Parliament, take part in a publication event for a book on the history of Finland's Tatar community, which dates back to the 19th century. Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) will accompany Stubb on the trip.
This marks the first working visit to Turkey by a Finnish president since Sauli Niinistö visited in March 2023. During that trip, Erdogan announced that Turkey would approve Finland's Nato bid after 10 months of delays.
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