HELSINKI — Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Office of the Prime Minister of Norway said in a press release.
Stubb and Støre started the call, the release said. It was held in consultation with Ukraine and followed up a meeting in Oslo on Oct. 20.
Their aim was to convey messages directly to Putin about future negotiations to help end the war. The release linked the call to upcoming meetings in Abu Dhabi.
The two took part as leaders of their own countries. They did not speak on behalf of Europe as a whole, the release said.
Finland and Norway both border Russia, and both are firm supporters of Ukraine. The release said the two countries share an interest in stability and predictability in the Baltic Sea region and the High North, and that this was highlighted in the call.
Stubb and Støre said Finland and Norway will keep up their longstanding support for Ukraine. They also said the war must end and negotiations must resume.
“The discussion was frank and substantive. We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions,”
“The war comes with enormous human and material costs. The suffering and destruction will impact generations. In the call we stressed the importance of de-escalation,” Støre said.
Western European leaders have mostly shunned contact with Putin since Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, Reuters reported. Stubb and Støre met U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo last week, a day before Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg, according to Reuters.
The Kremlin said after the Putin-Witkoff talks that Russia was willing to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine in November, for the first time since February, Reuters reported.
Zelenskyy spoke with Stubb and Støre on Tuesday shortly after their call with Putin, according to a Zelenskyy aide, Reuters reported. No details of those discussions were immediately disclosed.
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