Finnish president says Ukraine should join EU first, NATO later
Alexander Stubb (Photo by ERA/KIMMO BRANDT)

Ukraine should first join the European Union and then NATO, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at the Helsinki Security Forum.

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"I think that the sort of sequence would be: EU membership first, and NATO membership second," he said.

When asked if he believes Ukraine could receive an invitation to join NATO by the end of the year, Stubb replied, "I would think that it's unrealistic."

However, he emphasized that in the long term, Ukraine's integration into the North Atlantic Alliance is feasible.

"Don't hang everything on getting an invitation now. It is going to happen. It's a step-by-step process. Russia wanted to avoid at all costs getting NATO to its borders. It got Finland, it got Sweden, it will get Ukraine and all of those countries that want to join the Alliance," Stubb concluded.

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warNATOFinlandEU integrationAlexander Stubb