GEOFF BENNETT: We return to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Russians and Ukrainians appear to have agreed on which types of energy-related facilities will be safe from attack during a limited cease-fire.

And, as we reported earlier, there's now an agreement to ensure safe navigation of ships in the Black Sea.

I spoke earlier with the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, about all of this, the threat from Russia, and broader U.S. relations with Europe.

President Stubb, welcome to the "News Hour."

ALEXANDER STUBB, President of Finland: Thanks.

GEOFF BENNETT: As broader peace talks continue in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. today said an agreement has been reached to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.

Does that provide any hope toward a more encompassing cease-fire deal?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Yes, definitely.

I mean, I think we have to split the process into two.

First, it's a cease-fire, and only after that can you negotiate an actual peace agreement and a peace settlement.

And it looks like we're taking the cease-fire step by step.

So,first, there was an idea of not bombing energy and infrastructure.

Now we're going to the Black Sea.

So I think what the Americans have brokered here is a good first step towards some kind of a full-on cease-fire.

GEOFF BENNETT: And the U.S. is also acknowledging that it will pursue sanctions relief for Russian food, fertilizer, and shipping companies.

Is that an appropriate accommodation for Russia, in your view?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Well, I can't take a stand on what the American administration does on sanctions.

On the European side, I don't see any lifting of sanctions at this stage.

As a matter of fact, we're working on a 17th package.

But it is with certain joy that I hear that American senators are putting up a sanction package led by Senator Lindsey Graham, where the idea is that, if the cease-fire is broken, then a new wave of sanctions will be put down, because, in my experience, the only thing that Putin and Russia understands is power.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk more about that, because there is concern across Europe about the current administration's stance on Vladimir Putin.

President Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson called Vladimir Putin super smart, said he didn't regard him as a bad guy.

And he also suggested that there are Ukrainians who want to live under Russian rule.

Take a listen to what he said.

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East: I think the largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbass.

There's Crimea.

The names... TUCKER CARLSON, Former FOX News Anchor: Luhansk, yes.

STEVE WITKOFF: Luhansk.

And there's two others.

They are Russian-speaking.

They're Russian-speaking.

TUCKER CARLSON: Yes.

STEVE WITKOFF: There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.

TUCKER CARLSON: Yes.

STEVE WITKOFF: I think that's the key issue.

Who doesn't want to have a world where Russia and the United States are doing collaboratively good things together?

GEOFF BENNETT: What's your reaction to that?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Finland has a 1,340-kilometer-long border with Russia, and we have coexisted with Russia and the Soviet Union.

Since the 1300s, we have had roughly 30 wars and skirmishes.

So my take is that, with Russia, you always have to be alert and you have to be quite careful.

Perhaps Mr. Witkoff looks at things a little bit from a real estate perspective, and sees this a little bit as a zero sum game.

And in my experience with the Russians, it's a little bit more complicated than that.

The only thing that Russia understands is power.

There's a saying that if you have a bayonet in your hand in Russia and it's soft, you push it through.

If it hits something hard, you pull back.

And I think right now, it's a time to be hard, not soft with Russia.

GEOFF BENNETT: Given Finland's long border with Russia, how have you adjusted your defense strategy in light of the invasion?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Well, we really haven't, apart from, of course, joining the alliance.

You have to remember that, having had such a long border and experience with Russia, we have always had one of the strongest militaries in Europe.

We have 62 F-18s.

We bought 64 F-35s from the U.S. We have long-range missiles, land, air, and sea.

And we have the biggest artillery in Europe, together with Poland.

And, as I always say, we don't have them because we're worried about Stockholm.

We have them because we want to have a deterrent towards Russia.

GEOFF BENNETT: You have said that the only real solution to deter Moscow was to militarize Ukraine to its teeth.

How can Europe do that without the full support of the U.S.?

Is that -- is it possible?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Well, we have to work hand in hand.

The first observation to make is that, of course, the biggest military power in Europe right now is Ukraine.

I will just give you one example.

Three years ago, when the war started, they were not able to produce any drones.

Last year, they produced 1.5 million.

This year, they will produce 4.5 million.

So, of course, we need to continue to support Ukraine.

But it is, in all honesty, very important, of course, that the United States continues to support Ukraine, because what we want to do is, we want to avoid this thing happening again.

And the only way in which you do it is by making sure that Ukraine is strong enough that there is no incentive for Russia to attack again.

GEOFF BENNETT: You mentioned that Finland is buying some 60-plus F-35s from the U.S. A number of European leaders, your counterparts, are now apparently looking to buy weapons from elsewhere because they view the U.S. as being a less-than-reliable partner.

For example, just today, a conservative member of Parliament in Denmark tweeted in response to the speculation about F-35 having a kill switch that would allow the U.S. to potentially disable it.

But in this tweet, he says: "I don't know if there's a kill switch in the F-35s or not.

We obviously cannot take your word for it.

I can easily imagine a situation where the USA will demand Greenland from Denmark and will threaten to deactivate our weapons and let Russia attack us when we refuse.

Therefore, buying American weapons is a security risk that we cannot run."

Do you share that view?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Well, no.

No, I don't share that view.

I mean, two observations on this.

Finland has been working on military and defense industry and cooperation with the United States since the early 1990s, when we bought our over 60 F-18s.

Always a very reliable partner in so many ways.

As a matter of fact, in my first phone conversation with President Trump, we discussed the F-35s.

And we are on track for the first delivery before the end of this year, and we will continue to work with the American military industry.

Just a little gentle reminder, I think, two things.

One is that military planning is always long term, so you don't make these orders and then just suddenly say, sorry, we're not going to do it.

I mean, it's really, really long processes.

We're talking five, 10, even 15 years, so you can't sort of just switch them off.

The second one is that I don't think that there is a disincentive for the U.S. military industry to wind down in Europe.

The reason is that Europe actually buys double the amount of stuff from the U.S. in terms of military equipment, in terms of vehicles, in terms of the F-35s, than the U.S. does itself.

GEOFF BENNETT: On the matter of defense spending, historically, Europe has relied on the U.S. for security, leading to a underinvestment in Europe's own defense capabilities.

Some European countries have increased their own defense spending.

But what's really required in shifting that paradigm, as President Trump has called for?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Well, my first observation is to say that President Trump is right, and the pressure that he has put on allies in NATO has been very welcomed.

But there are a lot of our European allies that haven't done enough.

So, when President Trump started to put pressure on the allies in 2016, there were only about three NATO countries that went over the 2 percent threshold.

Now we're 23.

The U.S. wants Europe to take more responsibility for its own security and defense.

And I think the U.S. is right on that.

But the transition is long, and this is not binary.

We're allies.

We're in this together, hand to hand.

European security is in the interest of American security, and vice versa.

GEOFF BENNETT: Looking ahead, how do you see the geopolitical landscape in Europe changing as a result of the war in Ukraine and compounded by the current administration's approach toward Moscow?

ALEXANDER STUBB: Two things come to mind.

The first one is, I have never seen the European Union or Europe as united as we are right now.

If someone would have told me three years ago that Finland would join NATO, that Sweden would join NATO, that Ukraine would become a member of the European Union, et cetera.

et cetera, I said, not in your wildest dreams.

The second observation to make is that, in the first five weeks of the Trump presidency, he has probably done more to give incentive for Europe to take care of its own security and defense than we have seen in the past 30 or 50 years overall.

So there is a paradigm shift.

I think the most important thing to keep in mind here is that values bind.

And that's why I think interests bind as well.

So it's going to have to be a continued partnership, transatlantic partnership, between Europe and the United States, where Europe takes more responsibility, because we all understand that, when it comes to Putin, all he wants basically is imperialism.

And we don't want that.

GEOFF BENNETT: The president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, thank you for your time and for your insights this evening.

ALEXANDER STUBB: My pleasure.