Stubb and Støre call Putin to advance Ukraine peace talks

President Alexander Stubb of Finland and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway held a joint telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The conversation took place from Helsinki and marked the first direct contact between Putin and European leaders since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with him in July 2025.

Their offices stated the purpose was to examine future negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. They clarified that the initiative was not conducted on behalf of Europe as a whole. Stubb and Støre noted that Finland and Norway share borders with Russia, which they cited as a reason for their involvement.

Stubb described the call as frank and substantive. He explained that the outcome of the war will have a direct impact on the security of Finland, Norway, and the broader European region. Støre emphasized the human and material costs of the conflict, stating that the suffering and destruction will affect generations to come.

Following the call, Putin attributed the prolonging of the war to confrontational policies by the European Union and NATO. The conflict began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This dialogue comes as relations between the United States, Ukraine, and European allies have become strained since President Donald Trump agreed to lift certain sanctions, allowing Russia to export oil to the US.

The Nordic leaders said their move continued discussions held in Oslo on October 20. After those talks, US special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with Putin. Ukraine, Russia, and the United States subsequently agreed to resume three-way negotiations that Russia had paused for several months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Stubb and Støre after their conversation with Putin. He expressed gratitude for their active support. Zelensky said the discussions with the Russian leader centered on upcoming trilateral talks scheduled for Abu Dhabi in November. He also discussed various formats for engaging European partners to support diplomacy and defense.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed skepticism about the dialogue. She told Danish broadcaster DR that the call had not been coordinated with other European leaders. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last weekend that having a European negotiator at the peace talks table would be good.