STOCKHOLM, August 25. /TASS/. Relations between Russia and Europe may be restored after the Ukraine conflict is settled, but they will not be the same as before, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.
"Establishing relations between Russia and the rest of Europe in one form or another will only be possible once a just and lasting peace has been achieved in Ukraine," he said at the opening of the 34th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Mariehamn, Aland Islands.
Relations between the Baltic Sea states and Moscow are currently frozen, the Finnish president noted, adding that the future ties will look very different from those that existed before the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. "We cannot turn back the tide of history," Stubb said.
The Finnish leader has repeatedly spoken about the prospects of restoring relations with Russia after the end of the conflict in Ukraine. In April 2025, he said at a press conference in London that Helsinki needs to "morally prepare" for restoring relations with Moscow, and also noted that European leaders have begun discussing the possibility of establishing contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin.