Finnish leaders are pressing Germany to abandon its reservations about weapon deliveries to Ukraine, Euroactiv reports, as President Alexander Stubb prepares for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Despite Ukraine’s appeals, Western countries, including the US and the UK, have restricted Ukraine’s use of their long-range weapons like ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles to prevent deep strikes inside Russia, allegedly aiming to avoid escalation. Meanwhile, Germany has been refusing to send Ukraine its Taurus missiles for months.

Finnish President Stubb and Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen arrived in Berlin on 21 October for the 25th anniversary of the Nordic embassy in Germany, with presidential talks scheduled for 22 October afternoon.

According to a German government spokesperson, the leaders will discuss bilateral and European policy issues regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine and NATO cooperation. Euroactiv believes the talks will likely include discussion of Ukraine’s “victory plan,” which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented to European leaders in Brussels last week.

Foreign Minister Valtonen directly addressed German concerns, stating at a press conference,

“It must be said in Berlin that we hope that Germany will play a very important role [in facing the Russian threat],” she said, emphasizing, “No matter what Russia says, we [must] understand that we aren’t responsible for any escalation because we work within international law.”

The Finnish position contrasts with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s more cautious approach. Scholz has recently rejected key points of Zelenskyy’s victory plan, namely an immediate invitation for Ukraine to join NATO and the removal of restrictions on the use of Western weapons against military targets in Russia.

While Germany has lifted restrictions around Kharkiv Oblast, Scholz remains resistant to delivering its Taurus long-range missiles. Scholz told journalists in Brussels last week,

“We have a responsibility to ensure that the war between Russia and Ukraine does not escalate into a war between Russia and NATO.”

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