Norway and Finland leaders hold rare call with Putin — SkimNews
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- Stubb and Støre held a 90-minute joint call with Putin from Helsinki about Russia’s war in Ukraine—the first contact with Putin by European leaders since Emmanuel Macron spoke to him in July 2025; all three were reported to have agreed to continue direct phone communication.
- Støre said there were “big differences in views” with Putin; Stubb called the conversation “frank and substantive” and said its purpose was to convey messages directly about future negotiations, adding that an end to the conflict “will not be achieved through silence.”
- Putin said a fair long-term settlement was possible only if Russia’s legal interests were taken into account “fully and unconditionally,” and repeated his “root causes” explanation of the conflict, his shorthand for Ukraine’s desire to exist as a sovereign state.
- Stubb said the initiative was prepared in consultation with Ukraine and the US after Zelensky, the Nordic leaders and US special envoy Witkoff met in Oslo the previous week.
- Zelensky confirmed Stubb and Støre debriefed him after the call and thanked them for their “active support”; Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the approach “the right approach.”
- Tusk said Stubb described Europe’s position on the upcoming talks as “moderately optimistic”; the first trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia talks since the start of the year were tentatively planned for early November in Abu Dhabi.
- Peskov called the Nordic leaders’ discussions “very constructive and practical,” while Ulf Kristersson said Europe should stick together rather than go solo after Danish and Swedish prime ministers said the dialogue was not coordinated with other European leaders.
Why it matters: Stubb and Støre opened a direct phone channel with Putin ahead of the early-November Abu Dhabi talks, with the initiative prepared alongside Ukraine and the US. But the 90-minute call left the central divide explicit: Moscow insisted its legal interests be taken into account fully and unconditionally, while the Nordic effort proceeded without coordinating the wider European bloc.
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