An unexpectedly pivotal figure in Ukraine negotiations speaks out

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has bonded with President Donald Trump over golf, gave NBC News an inside look at the White House meeting on Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — Finnish President Alexander Stubb has proved pivotal in the efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, taking on new importance after he bonded with President Donald Trump over their mutual love of golf.

Minutes after emerging from a four-hour meeting with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several other European leaders at the White House on Monday, Stubb described the results to NBC News.

“What we have agreed on is to work on European and American security guarantees, essentially, which will be secure from the European perspective, coordinated with the Americans,” Stubb said. “It’s us who decide what kind of security guarantees we put up for Ukraine, not the Russians.”

He responded sharply to Russia’s immediate rejection of the idea that those security guarantees would potentially include a NATO presence.

“Russia doesn’t decide on that,” Stubb said. “It’s as simple as that.”