The leaders of Finland and Norway held a 90-minute joint call with Vladimir Putin from Helsinki on 27 October. The offices of President Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated the call aimed at looking at future negotiations to help to end the war in Ukraine.
The initiative was not on behalf of Europe as a whole. Putin told the leaders that confrontational EU and Nato policies were prolonging the war.
The Kremlin stated that Putin told the leaders that a just and lasting peace would only be possible if Russia's interests were considered. Alexander Stubb described the call as frank and substantive.
Stubb added that the war's outcome will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Jonas Gahr Støre noted that the call showed big differences in views.
Støre said the war comes with enormous human and material costs and that the suffering and destruction will impact generations. The Kremlin reported that Putin, Stubb and Støre agreed to continue direct phone communication.
Støre said all allies had been informed of the call ahead of time. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was very sceptical and claimed the dialogue had not been co-ordinated with any of the rest of us.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe's position on the upcoming talks in the United Arab Emirates was moderately optimistic. Donald Trump agreed to lift some sanctions from Russia, allowing it to export oil to the US.
Ukraine, Russia and the US agreed to resume three-way negotiations. Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the two Nordic leaders after their conversation with Putin.
Zelensky met Stubb, Støre and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo last week. Zelensky said he was grateful for the active support of his Finnish and Norwegian counterparts.
Zelensky said discussions with Putin had centred on November's trilateral talks to be held in Abu Dhabi. Dmitry Peskov said the call was good.
