President of Finland Alexander Stubb opens the annual Kultaranta Talks -debate session on foreign and security policy at the the President’s summer residence Kultaranta in Naantali, Finland, on June 16, 2025. Photo: Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva
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President Alexander Stubb said on Monday that Finland will not recognise Palestine at this stage, citing ongoing regional instability and the recent escalation between Israel and Iran.
Speaking at a press conference at the presidential summer residence in Kultaranta, Naantali, Stubb said the matter was suspended due to Israel’s strike on Iran last Friday.
“Right now, the focus of international politics is not on the point at which Finland recognises Palestine,” he said.
He outlined four prerequisites for such a recognition: a ceasefire, peace negotiations, a two-state solution, and only then, the possibility of recognition.
“At this moment, I see no added value in recognition,” he said.
The remarks came at the opening of a two-day foreign and security policy event hosted by the president. This year’s Kultaranta discussions take place at the recently restored presidential summer residence. The theme is “Changing world order – where the old and new worlds meet.”
The event’s guest list includes foreign ministers from countries in the global south. Discussions focus on ways to bring stability to what Stubb described as “a multipolar, quite fragmented world.”
“Everything is connected,” he said, adding that a country’s approach to foreign policy rests on three pillars: values, interests, and power.
“In times of change, each country applies these pillars in its own way. Finland will focus on values and interests,” he said.
According to the president’s office, 140 participants from various sectors of society were invited to attend. These include political leaders from Finland and abroad, academics, civil servants, business representatives, non-governmental organisations and the media.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
