Finland and Norway leaders hold rare 90-minute call with Putin on Ukraine war

HELSINKI: The leaders of Finland and Norway held a joint telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. It was rare direct contact between a Russian president and European leaders.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre started the 90-minute call from Helsinki. Their offices said the aim was to discuss Russia's war against Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to end it and promote peace and stability in Europe.

Stubb called the talk "frank and substantive". "We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions," he said. He also said peace would not be achieved "through silence".

Støre said the war came with "enormous human and material costs" and that the suffering and destruction would affect generations. He said the leaders had stressed the importance of de-escalation. He also said there were "big differences in views" with Putin.

Both leaders said their support for Ukraine would continue. They said they were speaking as Russia's neighbours and not for Europe as a whole. "We've not set out to speak on behalf of anyone other than ourselves," Støre said.

Stubb said the call was prepared in consultation with Ukraine and the United States. It followed a meeting in Oslo on 20 October between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Nordic leaders and US envoy Steve Witkoff.

The Kremlin said Putin told them a just and lasting peace was possible only if Russia's legitimate interests were fully and unconditionally taken into account. It said attention was also drawn to what it called the confrontational policies of EU and NATO countries, which it said prolonged the fighting. According to the BBC, the three sides reportedly agreed to continue direct phone contact.

The Nordic leaders later briefed Zelensky. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the call had been coordinated with Kyiv and was "the right approach".

Reactions in Europe were mixed. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was "very sceptical" of reaching out to Putin. "I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo," she said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the results of earlier German and French talks with Russia had been "very modest".

Mika Aaltola, a member of the European Parliament from Stubb's National Coalition Party, warned of "propaganda value" for Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said European countries were merely seeking a role in future negotiations.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Stubb had told him Europe's position on planned talks in Abu Dhabi was "moderately optimistic". The first US-Ukraine-Russia talks since the start of the year are tentatively planned there for early November.

Russian attacks continued on Tuesday. Officials in Kyiv said the city's South Bridge was hit in overnight strikes involving 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones. Zelensky called it "a serious escalation in Russia's campaign targeting our logistics".

Stubb and Støre are the first European leaders to speak to Putin since French President Emmanuel Macron did so in July 2025.