Finland and Norway's leaders call Putin as Denmark criticises 'uncoordinated' move

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, in the first direct contact between Putin and a top European leader allied with Kyiv since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to him in July, according to HotNews.

The call aimed "to convey messages directly regarding future negotiations to help end the war" to Putin, a joint statement from the Norwegian and Finnish governments said. Støre said the conversation stressed "the importance of de-escalation," adding that the war's "suffering and destruction will impact generations." Stubb said "ending the war requires direct discussions," noting that Finland and Norway both border Russia.

The two leaders said they were not speaking on behalf of Europe as a whole. The call followed an Oslo meeting on 20 October between Stubb, Støre, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Steve Witkoff, Kyiv Independent reported. Zelensky later said he was grateful for the "detailed briefing" and for the two countries' support for Ukraine's diplomatic efforts.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticised the move. She told Danish broadcaster TV2 she was "sceptical" of the call, which she said had not been coordinated with other European leaders. "I think we should stand together and speak with one voice," she said. Norway's prime minister responded that all partner countries had been informed of the call beforehand, according to HotNews. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Stubb had told him the European position on the planned Abu Dhabi talks was "moderately optimistic," and that Norway and Finland had stressed Poland's eastern-flank security was not up for negotiation.

The Kremlin said Putin told the two leaders that what it called the confrontational policies of the EU and NATO were prolonging the fighting in Ukraine, and that a "just and lasting peace" was possible only if Russia's interests were fully taken into account. All three leaders welcomed plans to resume trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November, and agreed to continue direct phone contact, the Kremlin said. Russian state news agency TASS confirmed the call took place and said the leaders had also discussed compliance with international maritime law and freedom of navigation.