“One phone call,” Stubb said. “I know there is a little bit of exaggeration there, but nevertheless, from XI Jinping to Vladimir Putin saying that it is time to negotiate, I think that would do it.”

Stubb added: “I do think that in the beginning of the war, China was sitting on the fence, but now it is providing Russia with too much help, especially finance or dual [-use] goods. So if at one stage I have a chance to discuss with President Xi Jinping again, I will make it clear that it is time to act.”

He continued: “If you talk about peace and peaceful coexistence, you have to put your money where your mouth is. So it’s not enough just to talk. And that’s why we need a little bit more action from China.

Stubb admitted that negotiating peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin is “difficult” and the road to peace is “long and (…) goes in many phases.”

“The first phase is that we have to provide as much military equipment and finance to Ukraine as possible so that it can win this war and therefore win this peace.”

“I would argue that Zelenskyy will need four things. The first thing he will need is territory. Second thing he'll need is security guarantees. Third thing he'll need is justice. So military war criminals indicted. And then fourth, he'll need reconstruction,” said Stubb.

Putin ‘has to be forced to peace’

“I think he (Putin) has to be forced to peace and he has to lose this peace.”

Stubb added that there is already a peace proposal in the form of the Ukrainian president’s ten-point plan.

“I fully realize that at some stage you need to have two parties around the table,” but before that can happen, “first, we need to convince, especially the Global South, that Russia needs to come in.”

‘We should not have any restrictions on what Ukraine can do’

Stubb also said that Ukraine’s allies must do more to assist it, not just by providing more money, equipment, and ammunition.

“We should certainly not have any restrictions on what Ukraine can do. Some of our allies still limit the usage of weapons into Russian territory, and I don’t think that’s smart at all.

“Finland has no limits on what Ukraine can do, as long as it does it for self-defense and within the framework of international relations.”

Click on the video to see our full, exclusive interview.