On 27 October, the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, and the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gar Støre, spoke on the telephone with Vladimir Putin about Russia’s war against Ukraine.
A statement from Stubb’s office said that the conversation followed on from a meeting held on 20 October in Oslo and took place in consultation with Ukraine.
Stubb and Støre initiated the conversation themselves to discuss Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to bring it to an end, as well as to strengthen peace and stability in Europe, the Finnish President’s office said.
“Finland and Norway share a border with Russia and firmly support Ukraine. The aim of the conversation was to convey to President Putin a position regarding future negotiations that could help bring the war to an end. The discussion centred on the upcoming meetings in Abu Dhabi. Stubb and Støre took part in the conversation as the leaders of their respective countries and did not speak on behalf of Europe as a whole,” the statement said.
The statement notes that Stubb and Støre confirmed that Finland and Norway will continue to provide the support they have been offering to Ukraine for some time. They also emphasised the need to end the war and resume negotiations.
“The conversation was frank and substantive. We are countries that border Russia. The outcome of this war will directly affect our security and the security of the whole of Europe. Direct negotiations are needed to end the war,” said President Stubb.
“The war is causing enormous human and material losses. The suffering and destruction will affect many generations. During the conversation, we emphasised the importance of de-escalation,” said Prime Minister Støre.
The Office of the President of Ukraine reported that, following Støre and Stubb’s conversation with Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone with European representatives.
Most Western European leaders have avoided contact with Putin since Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused European governments of fuelling the war, pointing to arms supplies to Ukraine. The Russian side contrasted this with the position of US President Donald Trump, who maintained contact with Putin and attempted to facilitate a peace agreement, though this has not yet been achieved.
Last week in Oslo, Støre and Stubb met with US President’s Special Envoy Steve Whitcroft and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Whitcoff then travelled to Russia and met with Putin in St Petersburg.
Following Putin’s talks with Whitcroft, the Kremlin stated that Russia was prepared to resume peace talks with Ukraine as early as November, with the US acting as mediator — for the first time since February. The meeting is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
In this regard, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the terms of Ukraine’s security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire cannot be determined by the Russian side. According to him, restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian army and issues of the country’s sovereignty are not up for discussion. Zelenskyy also spoke out against any easing of international sanctions against Russia.