Leaders of Finland and Norway hold direct talks with Putin

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a joint call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as part of international efforts to secure an end to the war in Ukraine. “The discussion was frank and substantive,” said Stubb said in a statement after the call. “We are neighboring 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 conversation was held in consultation with Kyiv and the two leaders — who are firm allies of Ukraine — were not speaking as official representatives of Europe as a whole. But the call comes at a delicate moment in the four-year-long war as European officials bid for a place at the negotiating table, with U.S. President Donald Trump pushing for a peace deal. Two EU officials said the President of the European Council, António Costa, had been told of the planned call in advance. Talks between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine are planned to take place in Abu Dhabi next month. Støre said the two European leaders stressed the importance of de-escalation in the call with Putin. “The war comes with enormous human and material costs. The suffering and destruction will impact generations,” he added. Stubb’s office described the call as a follow-up to talks in Oslo on Oct. 20, in which the two European leaders were joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who then traveled to meet Putin in Russia the following day. Stubb and Støre are close friends and speak frequently, and they were together in Helsinki for the conversation with Putin. According to a statement from the Finnish president’s office, the two leaders wanted to tell the Russian leader directly that they would continue supporting Ukraine and that peace negotiations must resume, looking ahead to the planned meetings in Abu Dhabi. They also told the Russian leader that they had a shared interest in the stability of the Baltic Sea region and the High North. Stubb and Støre briefed Zelenskyy after the call. “I am grateful for the detailed briefing and for their active support for our diplomacy and the peace efforts we are pursuing together with all our partners,” the Ukrainian president said in a post on X. “Alex and Jonas made it clear to the Russian leader that real de-escalatory steps are needed regarding our energy and infrastructure.” “We discussed preparations for the trilateral meeting planned for November at the team level — Ukrainian, American, and Russian,” Zelenskyy said. “Finland and Norway, as countries that border Russia, have a particular interest in sound and reliable security arrangements. We also discussed various formats for our engagement with partners in Europe that could be useful in further supporting diplomacy, our defense, and our shared security.” The last staunch European supporter of Ukraine to speak to Putin at leader level is believed to have been French President Emmanuel Macron in July 2025. Some EU leaders like Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico and former Hungarian premier Viktor Orban have maintained semi-regular contact with the Russian president in recent years, despite the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. EU diplomats and officials have been considering how to ensure Ukraine’s allies in Europe can play a meaningful part in negotiations on a ceasefire and longer term peace agreement. Stubb’s name emerged as one of the potential leaders who could take on the job of representing Europe and bolstering Ukraine in face-to-face talks with Trump and Putin. He is one of the few EU leaders and Ukraine backers who has maintained a healthy relationship with Trump at a time of strained relations across the Atlantic. Finland also shares a 1,300 kilometer border with Russia, meaning Stubb and his officials already have valuable experience of dealing with a threatening and unpredictable neighbor. Sebastian Starcevic contributed reportin