Helsinki: The Finnish President, Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Ghar Støre, spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone on Tuesday. They urged him to end the Ukraine War ahead of the planned trilateral peace talks including Russia, Ukraine and the United States, as Reuters reported. The two Nordic leaders also spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of the 90-minute call.
The in-call discussions came ahead of planned talks between officials from Russia, Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in November. As per the official statements from Finland and Norway, the initiative was coordinated with Kyiv.
Finnish president said, “The discussion was frank and substantive,” stressing that the outcomes of the war would directly affect the security of Finland, Norway and wider European areas. He added that the war had already inflicted enormous human and material costs, with its destruction and suffering likely to affect future generations. De-escalation was the prime and urgent demand by the two leaders.
Reuters observed that the call was a sign of departure from the approach of several Western European leaders, who have already avoided direct association with Putin as they attempted to isolate Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin’s account of the conversation brought no indication of change in Russia's position. Moscow restated that a lasting peace would require its interests to be fully taken into account, while blaming the policies of European Union and NATO countries for prolonging the conflict, Reuters reported.
The engagement also brought in mixed reactions from European leaders. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that, rather than pursue separate initiatives, Europe should remain united, while Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed low expectations of the talks, according to Reuters.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow and Kyiv remain divided over the terms of a settlement, while diplomatic efforts have continued amid ongoing fighting.
(With agency inputs from AP/PTI and Reuters)