Finnish, Norwegian Leaders Hold Phone Call With Putin
The Facts
- Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday from Helsinki. Stubb's office said the call followed talks in Oslo with Zelenskyy last week and was held in consultation with Ukraine.
- The call was the first between Putin and a leader of one of Ukraine's European allies since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with him in July 2025, and comes after Stubb and Støre met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Zelenskyy in Oslo last week.
- Stubb called the conversation "frank and substantive," with Støre saying they "stressed the importance of de-escalation."Stubb and Støre briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the call, with Stubb claiming that "ending the war requires direct discussions."
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The Spin
Narrative A
Freelance diplomacy with Moscow just hands the Kremlin exactly what it wants: a divided Europe. Nothing suggests any appetite from the Kremlin for peace, meaning Stubb and Støre's empty gesture will likely only boost Moscow's confidence in outlasting Ukrainian resistance.
Narrative B
Ending a war necessarily involves direct discussions, and countries sharing a border with Russia have every reason to speak to their hostile neighbor. Coordinated with Kyiv and part of a wider peace track, those from within who criticize Stubb and Støre's actions engage in the very division they claim to be against.
Pro-Russia narrative
Russia is ready to return to direct talks, but only for a final settlement and not a short pause that lets Kyiv regroup. A just peace requires Russia’s interests to be met in full, just like the West expects of Ukraine, and if the EU and NATO wish instead to fight to the last Ukrainian, that is a decision that they will have to bare responsibility for.
