China assured Finland it won't allow Russia to use nuclear weapons, President Stubb says

China has privately assured Finland that it would not allow Russia to use nuclear weapons, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview released Saturday.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Paul Ronzheimer of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, Stubb was emphatic when asked whether Russia could resort to nuclear weapons, arguing that Beijing provides a powerful brake on Moscow escalating its war in Ukraine.

“I had the foreign minister of China visiting me this summer, and I raised the issue,” Stubb said. “And he said, we will never allow it to happen. And I think that’s a pretty good deterrence.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Stubb in Helsinki on July 5, with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and European security among the issues discussed. China remains one of Moscow’s most important economic and diplomatic partners.

Stubb also argued that Moscow benefits from keeping Europeans fixated on the prospect of nuclear escalation or a direct attack on NATO.

“Russia wants us Europeans to sit here and discuss: Will Russia escalate? Will Russia use nuclear weapons? Will Russia attack NATO and Europe?” the Finnish leader said.

His prescription was characteristically restrained: “Stay calm, stay cool, stay collected, stay vigilant. Don’t dramatize, prepare for the worst in order to avoid it.”

That measured tone is familiar from Stubb. In May, after a drone entered Finnish airspace near Helsinki and fighter jets were deployed, he insisted Finland was “not facing any direct military threat.”

In the interview, he similarly played down fears of an imminent Russian assault on NATO, describing Moscow’s attempts to probe the alliance as “more like teasing” than preparation for war. Russia’s troops remain tied down in Ukraine, he said, while NATO’s deterrence makes a direct attack highly unlikely.

But Stubb also argued that Europe is approaching the point when it should reopen direct political dialogue with Moscow — a notable call from the president of a country that shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia and joined NATO after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“I’m sure we are approaching the day when it would be useful for Europeans to be in more direct contact with Russia,” he said, “especially because we need to avoid misunderstanding.”

Europe is “not there yet,” Stubb stressed, with the immediate priority remaining support for Ukraine.

“You can’t sort of press mute. You have to open the discussion,” he added.