Trump's golf diplomacy: Icebreaker deals & Finnish partnership
U.S. President Donald Trump met with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The two leaders played golf and had lunch together. The backdrop of their meeting was the potential purchase of a fleet of Finnish icebreakers. "Good personal relationships with the leaders of an unpredictable superpower have been a proven method of Finnish politics since the Cold War and the time of submission to the Soviet Union," the Finnish press reported.
"President Stubb and I look forward to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Finland, and that includes the purchase and development of a large number of badly needed Icebreakers for the U.S., delivering Peace and International Security for our Countries, and the World," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Both presidents met last week for breakfast, played golf, and had lunch together.
Stubb's unannounced visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida was informal.
The Finnish media criticized the meeting between the leaders.
A joint photo of a smiling Stubb and Trump on the golf course brings back unpleasant memories from the past, notes "Ilta-Sanomat".
During the period of Finlandization, Urho Kekkonen, the country's president from 1956 to 1981, posed with Soviet leaders during his fishing trips or joint hunts. He also went skiing.
Nikita Khrushchev, who ruled the Kremlin from 1953 to 1964, described the Finns as a "nation of athletes". After World War II, Finland's dependence on the Soviet Union, known as Finlandization, was associated with the constraints that the superpower imposed on its weaker neighbor, primarily in foreign and military policy, in exchange for non-interference in internal affairs.
Later, President Sauli Niinistö, in office from 2012 to 2024, played hockey with Vladimir Putin. At the end of his second term, in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine, he decided to introduce Finland to NATO.
His successor, Stubb, already during a pre-election television debate, stated that he would eagerly play golf with Trump to "ingratiate himself with him". Stubb was a member of the Helsinki Golf Club in his youth and participated in the European Championships in the late 1980s. Thanks to a golf scholarship, he also went to the USA for his studies.
In the new era of Finland as a NATO member, "golf diplomacy" by Stubb and relations with Trump, especially since "common hobbies bring people together," may bring "benefits to Europe," because Stubb has not only advocated for Finland, particularly regarding U.S. orders for Finnish icebreakers, comments "IS".
Stubb conveyed information to Trump
After returning from the USA, Stubb admitted that his visit was part of diplomatic efforts, which began with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Helsinki on March 19, followed by a summit in Paris on March 27.
In London on Monday, Stubb acknowledged that he conveyed messages to Trump that had been previously agreed upon with European allies, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian authorities.
Finnish broadcaster Yle emphasizes that in uncertain times and due to concerns about the reduction of the USA's role in NATO, Stubb has become "a messenger between Europe and US" thanks to his diplomatic skills.
