Norway, Finland leaders hold ‘frank and substantive’ talk with Putin

HELSINKI: Finland’s president and Norway’s prime minister held a “frank and substantive” discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (Oct 27) about efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the Nordic leaders said.

It was the latest effort by Kyiv’s allies to de-escalate the most deadly conflict in Europe since World War II, which erupted when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions,” President Alexander Stubb said in a joint statement with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

Speaking to reporters in Helsinki, Stubb said the idea for the call had originated during a meeting in Oslo on Oct 20 between Store, Stubb and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as US envoy Steve Witkoff.

US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also took part in the meeting remotely. After the Oslo talks, Witkoff travelled to Saint Petersburg to meet Putin. 

Stubb said “both the Americans and the Ukrainians thought it would be a good idea to reach out,” and that Ukraine had wished for the Nordic countries to help it “open a channel of communication”.

Store, who was also in Helsinki for a meeting of Nordic leaders, told reporters that the 90-minute call had highlighted “big differences in views” on Ukraine.

According to a statement from the Kremlin, Putin had during the call stressed that it was the EU’s and NATO’s “confrontational policy” that was “leading to a protraction of hostilities”.

The Kremlin said the three leaders had “agreed to continue maintaining direct contact by telephone”.