Finland's Stubb and Norway's Støre hold 90-minute call with Putin on ending the war; Kremlin says EU and NATO policies prolong fighting

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a joint 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday 27 October, the offices of the two leaders and the Kremlin said. It was the first known call between a European leader and Putin since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to him in July 2025, the BBC reported.

The Nordic leaders said the call, made from Helsinki at their request, was about “future negotiations to help to end the war” in Ukraine and was not made on behalf of “Europe as a whole”. Stubb called it “frank and substantive”. Støre said it showed “big differences in views” and that all allies had been told about it in advance.

What the Kremlin said

According to the Kremlin readout, the three leaders welcomed the agreement to resume Russia-Ukraine-US talks in Abu Dhabi “in early to mid November”. Putin said a just and lasting peace was possible only if Russia’s interests were “considered in full and without any conditions attached”, and pointed to “the EU and NATO’s confrontational policies which result in prolonging the hostilities”. The leaders agreed to keep in direct phone contact.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said later that, judging by what he had heard, “nothing new” had been said, and that the call showed Europe’s wish to “squeeze into the negotiating process”, Interfax reported.

Other reactions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to both leaders after the call and thanked them for their “active support”. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told broadcaster DR she was “very sceptical” because the call had not been “co-ordinated with any of the rest of us”, the BBC reported. Euronews reported that the European Commission and Council are preparing a joint team of senior officials for the next round of talks.

Background

The United States, through special envoy Steve Witkoff, has led talks with Moscow and Kyiv. Witkoff met Stubb, Støre and Zelensky in Oslo last week before seeing Putin in St Petersburg on 21 October.

See also: Kremlin says Abu Dhabi talks will start as Russia-US-Ukraine only.