On his way to Moscow on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron used a Cold War-era phrase, telling reporters that “Finlandization” of Ukraine was “one of the models on the table” for defusing tensions with Russia.

While in Ukraine on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron denied making the remark, which appeared to put him at odds with not only Ukrainians but also the United States. However, the issue is being debated once more in diplomatic circles.

The word refers to Finland’s tight neutrality during the Cold War, which was codified in a 1948 treaty with Moscow amid a period of heightened tensions between the Soviet Union and the West. The treaty guaranteed Finland, unlike other Eastern European countries, that it would not face a Soviet invasion, but in exchange, it promised to stay out of NATO and allow the colossus next door enormous control over its domestic and international policies.

Ukraine, which was once part of the Soviet Union, has shifted its economic and political ties to the West while rejecting Russian influence. NATO stated in 2008 that Ukraine would ultimately join the alliance, a popular idea in the country, though Ukraine has never applied for membership and NATO officials believe it will not happen anytime soon.

“Finlandization” appears to rule out that prospect, allowing Moscow to exert a strong hand in Ukrainian affairs — concessions that Kyiv and NATO have deemed unacceptable.

“All of this goes against what Ukraine has been striving for,” Anna Wieslander, director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council, said. “It would be a big shift from a long-term political aim of joining NATO and joining the E.U., which is what they have wanted.”

The arMr. Macron’s proposal appeared to suggest is “a way of solving a problem by making a decision over the head of the Ukrainians,” said Richard Whitman, an associate fellow at the policy analysis group Chatham House.

President Biden has stated that countries must have the freedom to form their own alliances.

Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin has long claimed that Ukraine and Russia are virtually one country, linked by inextricable historical and cultural connections. Following the ouster of a pro-Russian Ukrainian president in 2014, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, as well as supporting a rebel war in eastern Ukraine that is currently ongoing.

With Mr. Putin adamant about expanding his sphere of influence and undermining an independent Ukrainian government, and the West adamant about not going to war with Russia to protect Ukraine, some experts suggest that “Finlandization” is the wisest option for Ukraine.

The Kremlin is well aware that Finland, which was formerly a neutral buffer between the Soviet Union and NATO, has become significantly less neutral since the demise of the Soviet Union, leaning heavily toward the West.

“While it remains outside NATO to this day,” said James Nixey, the director of European Union-Russia relations at Chatham House, “Finland is completely compatible with NATO, and with Western security architecture, and is very much ‘on side’ as far as a unified concept of European security is concerned.”

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