Finnish President Alexander Stubb has said that the phone call he and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on 27 October was carried out in cooperation with Ukraine. The remarks were reported by European Pravda, citing the Finnish broadcaster Yle.
Stubb spoke about the call before delivering an address to the Nordic Council in the Finnish parliament. He said the conversation lasted roughly an hour and a half and followed on from the meeting in Oslo on 20 October.
According to the Finnish president, key allies were told about the call ahead of time. All Nordic Council countries were notified beforehand and then briefed on what was discussed once it ended.
Stubb also said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a report of about 30 minutes on how the call went. He added that the main issues and messages had been agreed upon the evening before the conversation took place.
Describing the tone of the exchange with Putin, Stubb called it professional and direct. He explained that he and Støre saw value in border states such as Finland and Norway clearing up matters that could lead to misunderstandings. They also wanted to pass direct messages to the Russian leader from a Nordic perspective, in particular that of Finland and Norway.
Stubb stressed that Norway and Finland will keep supporting Ukraine and working toward a lasting and just peace. He said the call had cleared the way for a meeting involving the United States, Ukraine, Russia and European countries, which is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in November.
The call was held on the initiative of Stubb and Støre themselves. Stubb earlier described the discussion as "frank and substantive". Zelenskyy said the two leaders had clearly told Putin that real de-escalatory steps are needed regarding Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Reaction in Europe was not uniform. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was highly sceptical about the results of the call. According to her, the conversation had not been coordinated with other European countries.
