Upon arriving in Helsinki, he spoke positively about Monday's negotiations in Berlin on a peace plan for Ukraine. Firstly, that Europe, Ukraine and the US were "gathered in the same room, discussing the same things".
"It's the first time we've sat down together like that," he says at today's summit in Helsinki, a Finnish initiative for countries on the EU's "eastern flank."
The other thing that was good was that the security guarantees are now starting to become clear.
That's one of the key questions – what commitments the outside world is prepared to make to ensure that Russia does not attack Ukraine again. He thinks he sees a "very clear American commitment to security guarantees."
Ready to participate
It is unclear exactly what they will look like. But the prime minister says the basis is to ensure a strong Ukrainian military. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the peace plan now stipulates that Ukraine will not have to shrink its armed forces, which currently number 800,000.
It's back to where I would say at least Sweden was a number of months ago, that the first and most important security guarantee is a really strong Ukrainian defense, says Kristersson during a break in the talks in Helsinki.
Then they should have no restrictions on how big they can be.
The next layer will be the "Coalition of the Willing", consisting of allied countries that provide resources.
Sweden will be involved too, but under the right circumstances.
We are prepared to participate with air capabilities, surveillance of various kinds. Even some naval capabilities if needed.
There is much that remains, but the major change in tone was still a much more forward-leaning, as they say, American willingness to be involved in such security guarantees.
“Unacceptable for me”
And even though there is talk of 90 percent agreement, perhaps the most difficult thorny issue remains – whether Ukraine can consider handing over land to the aggressor Russia in order to achieve peace.
The land issue will only come up when the security guarantees are in place, signals French President Emmanuel Macron, among others.
Zelenskyy admits that Ukraine and the United States have “different positions” when it comes to land.
Primarily, this concerns the Donbass area in eastern Ukraine, where the US, according to sources, continues to demand that Ukraine "withdraw".
"Any format where Donbass is under Russian control is unacceptable to me," Zelensky said on Monday, The Kyiv Independent reports .
