Finnish President Alexander Stubb heaped praise on President Donald Trump Thursday for brokering the first stage of a historic peace deal between Hamas and Israel.
Stubb congratulated Trump during their Oval Office meeting during his state visit to the White House.
“There’s one thing that I wanted to mention also. I want to congratulate you for what we have seen in the past 24 hours in Gaza. I think it’s a historic deal. I went through the 20 points. It’s almost like the best of record,” he told Trump, referring to the peace framework he set forth.
“You really see all the key elements. And if someone would have said a few weeks back that you and your team are able to push us to a position where there will be a ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners, hostages, and then a pullback, I would not have believed it,” he added.
Trump noted at the White House Cabinet meeting earlier that he expects Hamas to release the remaining hostages, both living and dead, on Monday or Tuesday.
Stubb added, “This is what diplomacy is at its best, and I think it’s a potentially huge deal.”
Trump, who last week acknowledged the roles of countries like Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan in helping to foster the potential for peace talks, told Stubb “Every single country came together.”
“People were shocked by it, but it’s an amazing situation. Nobody thought it was going to happen,” he added.
While Stubb and other world leaders are giving Trump kudos for setting a course for peace, former President Barack Obama was among those who lauded the peace deal but refused to give Trump credit.
Trump and Stubb also discussed their collaboration on building 11 icebreaker ships. Finland produces about 60 percent of the world’s icebreakers and designs about 80 percent of them, as Stubbb noted.
“We only have one icebreaker, and other countries have more than we do,” Trump said. “And we’re buying the finest icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for making them. They sort of have almost a monopoly on icebreakers, if you think about it.”
“By the time we finish, we’re going to make them maybe better than you, but at least as well,” Trump added.
Stubb noted that seven would be built in the United States and four would be built in Finland in “joint endeavors.”
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