Europe eyes Finland's President Alexander Stubb as its Ukraine peace negotiator after he broke ranks to call Putin

Finland's President Alexander Stubb has emerged as Europe's preferred choice to lead Ukraine peace negotiations, after he and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called Vladimir Putin together from Helsinki — a move the Kremlin has signalled it would be receptive to. European leaders have concluded they must secure a seat at the top table after Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff made little progress and Trump appeared to be steering talks toward a settlement on Putin's terms.

Stubb's decades of Finnish experience managing relations with Moscow give him credibility Putin's side is willing to accept.

European nations have provided weapons, training and billions in aid to Ukraine but have been shut out of all top-level peace talks until now.

The hard reality that Ukraine cannot reconquer its lost territories by force is, analysts say, finally forcing European leaders to act.