A world leader was left visibly stunned by an Aussie reporter’s bold suggestion for dealing with US President Donald Trump – and stopping war in its tracks.
Australian journalist Latika Bourke, who works for The Nightly, caught Finnish president Alexander Stubb off guard after suggesting Europe should bargain with Mr Trump by offering support in Iran in exchange for help in Ukraine.
The idea of striking a deal with the US president was put to Mr Stubb during a question-and-answer session at London’s Chatham House think tank on Tuesday local time.
“Why doesn’t Europe go to Trump and say, if you want assistance in the Gulf, here’s what we want you to do on Ukraine?” Ms Bourke asked.
Mr Stubb seemed obviously impressed at the suggestion, replying: “I think that’s a really good idea, I might pick you up on that”.
After laughter from the audience, he silently paused as he appeared to consider the question and gather his thoughts, before replying, “No, I think it’s actually a really good idea”.
“I’m available for advice,” Ms Bourke responded.
“Can my team take your phone number please?” Mr Stubb joked.
“No, but I mean, yeah. I’ll think about it, I’ll talk about it with my colleagues.”
Meanwhile, the relationship between Mr Trump and Finnish president Alexander Stubb is surprisingly close, after the pair golfed and lunched together at Mar-a-Lago in March 2025.
Since then, he has acted as a point of contact for the White House in Europe.
However, on Tuesday, he downplayed his ability to influence the US President.
“I have no illusions about who can convince President Trump on anything,” he said.
“If I get one idea out of 10 in on Ukraine, I think it’s good.”
Trump’s Iran demand
The eyebrow-raising exchange between Ms Bourke and Mr Stubb comes after Mr Trump this week pushed for a naval coalition to re-open the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the strait, which has been effectively closed since the war between US-Israeli forces and Iran broke out on February 28.
With the war nearing its third week, Brent crude prices have soared above $US100 a barrel, spiking fuel costs globally and prompting emergency measures.
“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships,” Trump said in his request on March 14.
But no country has committed to sending ships, and some – including Australia – have explicitly ruled it out.
In a scathing follow-up post on Tuesday local time, Mr Trump said “most” of America’s allies in NATO – an alliance mostly made up of European countries – had informed him they did not want to get involved.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO … to be a one-way street – We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us,” he wrote.
“ … Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea.”
Fears for Ukraine
Meanwhile, the Finnish leader’s question-and-answer session comes as European leaders and officials remain deeply concerned the war in Iran will distract from, and diminish support for, Ukraine’s defence against Russia.
The Russo-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year, has become a grinding conflict of attrition since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia controls roughly 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory, while Kyiv continues to rely heavily on Western military aid to sustain its defence.
It’s feared American weapons for Ukraine — especially Patriot interceptor missiles — will be diverted to the Middle East.
Surging energy prices and loosened sanctions on Russian oil might also boost Russia’s war effort by adding to export revenue.
“The Russian economy was actually doing extremely badly a couple of weeks back, now it’s bouncing back,” Mr Stubb said.
“I hope the peace negotiations on Ukraine don’t collapse like the negotiations between Iran and the US did. But time will tell.”
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