Finland and Norway leaders call Putin on Ukraine diplomacy

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 27, urging de-escalation and discussing diplomacy aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The leaders later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to brief him on their exchange. The Finnish presidential office said Stubb and Støre initiated the call in consultation with Ukraine. It followed a meeting in Oslo on October 20 and was linked to planned discussions in Abu Dhabi involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Officials described those discussions as expected in November, but did not establish a settled date. Støre said the conversation lasted about 90 minutes and that the leaders stressed the importance of de-escalation. Stubb characterized it as frank and substantive. Støre also said the exchange highlighted major differences in views on Ukraine. The two leaders said they spoke on behalf of their own countries, not Europe as a whole. The Kremlin’s account said Putin argued that a lasting peace required full consideration of Russia’s interests and blamed EU and NATO policies for prolonging hostilities. The public...