Finnish golf diplomacy: Stubb and Trump forge strategic ties
US President Donald Trump met with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The politicians played golf and had lunch together. In the background is the purchase of a fleet of Finnish icebreakers.
"President Stubb and I look forward to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Finland, and that includes the purchase and development of a large number of badly needed Icebreakers for the U.S., delivering Peace and International Security for our Countries, and the World," wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social. Both presidents met last week for breakfast, played golf, and had lunch together.
Stubb's unannounced visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida was informal.
Finnish media criticise the leaders' meeting.
A joint photo of a smiling Stubb and Trump on the golf course brings back unpleasant memories from the past, notes "Ilta-Sanomat".
During the period of Finlandisation, Urho Kekkonen, the country's president from 1956 to 1981, posed with Soviet leaders during his fishing trips or joint hunts. He also went skiing.
Nikita Khrushchev, who led the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, once described the Finnish people as being a particularly athletic nation. In the period after World War II, Finland's dependence on the Soviet Union, known as Finlandisation, was associated with the constraints that the superpower imposed on its weaker neighbour, primarily in foreign and military policy, in exchange for non-interference in internal affairs.
Later, President Sauli Niinistö, in office from 2012 to 2024, played hockey with Vladimir Putin, and at the end of his second term, in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine, decided to introduce Finland to NATO.
His successor Stubb, already during a pre-election television debate, stated that he would eagerly play golf with Trump to "ingratiate himself with him". Stubb was a member of the Helsinki Golf Club in his youth and participated in the European Championships in the late 1980s. Thanks to a golf scholarship, he also went to the USA for studies.
In the new era of Finland as a NATO member, "golf diplomacy" by Stubb and relations with Trump, especially since "common hobbies bring people together," may bring "benefits to Europe," because Stubb has not only advocated for Finland, particularly regarding US orders for Finnish icebreakers - comments "IS".
Stubb conveyed information to Trump
After returning from the USA, Stubb admitted that his visit was part of diplomatic efforts, which began with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Helsinki on 19th March, followed by a summit in Paris on 27th March.
Stubb, in London on Monday, admitted that he conveyed messages to Trump that had been previously agreed upon with European allies, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian authorities.
Finnish broadcaster Yle emphasises that in uncertain times and due to concerns about the reduction of the USA's role in NATO, Stubb has become "a messenger between Europe and US" thanks to his diplomatic skills.
