Nordic Leaders Engage Moscow: Stubb and Støre Call Putin to Advance Ukraine Peace Efforts

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre completed a joint telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The call, which took place from Helsinki, marked the first direct contact between the Kremlin leader and European heads of state since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Putin in July 2025. Both Nordic offices stated the primary objective was to examine future negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

The initiative stems from a series of diplomatic engagements over the past week. On 20 October, Stubb and Støre met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. Following that gathering, Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with Putin. These events led to an agreement among Ukraine, Russia, and the United States to resume trilateral negotiations that had been suspended for several months. Stubb and Støre described the Tuesday phone call as a continuation of those discussions.

Following the call, Putin characterized the policies of the European Union and NATO as confrontational, arguing they were prolonging the conflict that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Stubb described the conversation as frank and substantive, noting that the war's outcome would directly affect the security of Finland, Norway, and Europe. Støre emphasized the material and human costs of the conflict, stating that the resulting destruction would impact generations.

Zelensky spoke with both Nordic leaders after their conversation with Putin. The Ukrainian president expressed gratitude for their active support and said the discussions covered various formats for European engagement to support diplomacy and defense. He specifically noted that part of the dialogue focused on the upcoming trilateral talks scheduled for November in Abu Dhabi.

Reactions across Europe have been mixed. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described herself as very skeptical of the dialogue, telling Danish broadcaster DR that it had not been coordinated with other European nations. In contrast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated last weekend that having a European negotiator at the peace table would be beneficial. Moscow has frequently accused European leaders of extending the war by supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Stubb and Støre clarified that their initiative was not intended to represent Europe as a whole, but rather to leverage their geographic proximity to Russia. They noted that both nations share a border with the country. The next major step in the diplomatic process remains the resumption of three-way talks, which are currently set to take place in the United Arab Emirates this coming month.