Finnish President Alexander Stubb says China has assured Finland that it would not allow Russia to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Stubb made the statement in an interview with German newspaper Bild, referring to a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Finland earlier this summer.
According to Stubb, he raised the possibility of Russia using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine during the meeting. Wang reportedly responded that China would “never allow” such an attack.
Stubb described the assurance as an effective deterrent against a Russian nuclear strike.
The Finnish president has also said he does not believe Russia is likely to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine or attack a NATO member. He argued that Russia would have little to gain from testing NATO, given the alliance’s conventional and nuclear capabilities.
Finland joined NATO in 2023 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has since been among the alliance’s strong supporters of Kyiv.
China maintains close ties with Russia but has officially called for a political settlement of the war. Stubb’s comments therefore highlight Beijing’s potential influence over Moscow, particularly regarding the risk of further escalation.
