The leaders of Norway and Finland have held a rare call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for an end to the war in Ukraine, ahead of a planned round of United States-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi next month. The call on Tuesday marked a break from a longstanding policy among Western European heads of state to avoid direct talks with the Russian leader. Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere spoke with Putin for 90 minutes.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents would happen “very soon”. But with Trump increasingly siding with Putin over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Western leaders have been largely sidelined from US-led negotiations to end the Ukraine war. Gerhard Mangott, an Austrian political analyst, said European governments had “manoeuvred themselves into a dead end” when it came to finding a solution to the war, and Tuesday’s call was an effort to establish a channel for dialogue.
The Nordic leaders are hoping to influence the diplomatic process, following a policy shift by US President Donald Trump in favour of Russia. US ties with Ukraine have sunk to their lowest point in 18 months since Trump blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities for the rise in the cost of diesel, which has doubled in the US this year. Trump struck a deal with Putin to release Russian diesel stocks to the US and global markets despite sanctions on Russian oil.
He also waived newly approved US sanctions on Russia, causing anger in Europe and within his Republican Party, which had largely supported them. Ukraine also accused the US of restricting its access to Starshield, the military-grade Starlink satellite system that provides missile guidance intelligence. Stubb described the discussion with Putin as “frank and substantive”.
The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions,” the Finnish president said. Stoere said he and Stubb had “stressed the importance of de-escalation” to Putin.
In a post on X, Stubb said the call “was a follow-up to the meeting in Oslo on 20 October”, referring to talks between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Zelenskyy, held amid deteriorating relations between Washington and Kyiv. Stubb said the conversation with Putin was prepared “in consultation with Ukraine and the United States . Stubb stressed that the joint call was held in individual capacities as leaders of Norway and Finland, not as representatives of Europe.
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