The U.S. needs to push ahead with a new round of sanctions to cripple Russian industry and finally bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, Finnish leader Alexander Stubb told POLITICO in an interview.

Stubb, who previously used a golf trip with U.S. president Donald Trump to press him to take a harder line on the Russian leader, said it’s time for Washington to turn up the economic heat on Moscow.

Trump “either goes for carrot or for stick,” the Nordic leader said. “He tried the carrot in Alaska and in his phone conversation with Putin. And when he realized that the Russians are not going to move and they’re not interested in peace, he [Trump] went for stick.”

“Right now we’re in stick mode,” said Stubb. “The next step should be sanctions — the sanctions package in the [U.S.] Senate.”

He was referring to a sweeping Russia sanctions bill that has wide bipartisan support in the Senate and has stalled pending presidential approval. On Sunday night, Trump said the proposed legislation would be “OK with [him],” emboldening the the Senate to move forward on Monday.

Last month, Trump placed new sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil — a move the Finnish president applauded.

Stubb said the U.S. is right to move ahead with the bill given Putin’s unwillingness to embrace a ceasefire. “The only person Putin listens to is an oligarch,” Finland’s leader said. “In that sense, if the oligarchs come to the conclusion in Russia that economically this is too complicated, then things might start to happen.”

Asked if Europe should try to engage directly with Putin as proposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Stubb said: “Whenever that moment [for direct talks] comes, which it will at some stage … it’ll have to be coordinated.”

For now, Stubb said he was happy with Washington’s taking a leading role. “If we can contribute … if we can mediate, if we can have conversations with the Ukrainians, with the Americans, with the Europeans, I think that’s good enough,” he said, adding that a just and lasting peace is more important that Europe getting a photo op.

Ceasefire ‘not in the cards’

On the prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine, Stubb was downbeat, noting he had pressed for a ceasefire deadline around Easter, ahead of the Aug. 15 Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, and again ahead of the upcoming Nov. 22-23 G20 gathering in Johannesburg.

“Failing all this and reading the room right now, having had conversations with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy on Friday, with my American friends and European friends over the past few weeks, I just don’t see that [a ceasefire] in the cards,” he added.

The best way to bring a ceasefire closer is to maintain pressure on Russia and keep backing Ukraine, he said.

Stubb’s visit to Brussels comes as the EU scrambles to keep Ukraine financially afloat beyond the first quarter of 2026. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed tapping a trove of Russian frozen assets held in Belgium, but the country’s prime minister has so far resisted, citing concerns about Russian retaliation.

The Finnish leader, who met with Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever earlier on Monday, said he didn’t want to put  “public pressure” on de Wever but predicted with “high confidence” that Europe would ultimately come up with a funding solution.

One way is to combine various options spelled out in a Commission paper, he said, rather than take the entire amount needed to cover Ukraine’s funding shortfall from the Russian assets. The Commission has proposed increasing the EU budget or having capitals raise debt for Ukraine in addition to seizing the assets.

“It could also be a combination of these three options, but that’s for the European Council to decide. And of course for Belgium itself,” said Stubb, who also met with von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday.

Earlier Monday, Polish leader Donald Tusk denounced an explosion on a Polish rail line used to deliver aid to Ukraine as an “act of sabotage.”

“This is the new normal,” Stubb said. “My recommendation is to stay calm. Have a little bit more sisu [grit]. Don’t get too flustered.”