Stubb: We are at a critical point in the negotiations and closer to a deal than ever

President of Finland Alexander Stubb considers the current moment in the Russian-Ukrainian war to be "critical" and sees the greatest chance for a settlement now than in the entire almost four years of Russia's full-scale invasion. He said this in an interview with Buitenhof .

"I think we are at a critical moment in the peace talks, and at the same time we are probably closer to a peace agreement than we have been at any time in these four years," he said .

Stubb emphasized that work is currently underway on three documents: the first is a framework 20-point "peace plan," the second is on security guarantees for Ukraine, and the third is on rebuilding Ukraine.

Asked why he believed a peace deal could be reached now, Stubb said there were "many reasons," including "momentum," which is important in diplomatic negotiations.

"The second [reason] is that we actually have something on paper. We reacted quite strongly to the 28-point plan because there were elements in it that we just didn't like, but after that, the Americans, together with the Ukrainians, did a great job. Of course, we want to find a "landing zone" that preserves Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity," Stubb emphasized .

• On the evening of December 14, a five-hour meeting between Ukraine and the US in Berlin ended, and talks will continue on December 15. Vitkoff says "significant progress".