Finnish President Alexander Stubb recently emphasized India as separate from Russia and China, terming New Delhi an "emerging superpower" and encouraging Western countries to increase their engagement with it.
Responding to an interview on Bloomberg Podcasts, Stubb was queried over India's increasing siding with Russia and China. He reacted assertively, affirming, "India is a very close ally of the European Union and of course of the United States as well, so I wouldn't throw them in the same basket."
"India is an emerging super power. It got demography, it got economy on its side. I always argue that it's very important for the West to engage India, work with them," he added.
Conversely, Stubb cited the very deep, asymmetrical relationship between Moscow and Beijing, once more insisting that "he wouldn't put India in the same basket."
"I think, of course, Russia and China have a direct connection. In the early 1990s China and Russia had economies of the same size, but now China is over 10 times bigger. And actually, with its oil purchase, with its gas purchase, with its technological exchange, it does give the possibility for Russia to conduct the war, so there's a very close link there," he noted.
This is the second time Stubb has requested more interaction with India on global security. During the Helsinki Security Forum 2025, he emphasized India's interest in ending the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
"I've been speaking to PM Modi recently about the situation in Ukraine. India has a geopolitical stake here. So we need to get them involved," he told delegates.
"First, we need a ceasefire; only then can we begin peace negotiations. We also need a formal date for a bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin and only after that Zelenskyy can reach out to Putin by phone to discuss on what the agenda could possibly," he added.
Stubb has also joined multilateral events such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, which was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He went on to note that the bonhomie at the summit was a manifestation of longer-term changes in global realignments.
Stubb's interaction with India is not limited to security matters. He had a telephone call with PM Modi in August to discuss bilateral ties.
As per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Stubb made his opinion known on recent European, US, and Ukrainian leaders' meetings in Washington to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.
PM Modi again reaffirmed India's steadfast commitment to the path of dialogue and peaceful resolution. The two leaders also reiterated their pledge to deepen cooperation in cutting-edge fields such as quantum technologies, 6G, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and sustainability.
The MEA also indicated that Stubb expressed support for an early completion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, which has been pending negotiation for a few years, and for the success of the AI Impact Summit to be organized by India in 2026. PM Modi welcomed Stubb to India at the earliest, and the two agreed to keep in close touch.
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