Nordic leaders press Putin on Ukraine war in rare 90-minute call

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a rare 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, urging de-escalation and an end to the war in Ukraine ahead of planned US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi next month.

Stubb called the discussion “frank and substantive” and said it had been prepared in consultation with Ukraine and the United States. He and Støre participated as the leaders of Finland and Norway rather than as representatives of Europe, while reaffirming their support for Ukraine.

Støre said the Nordic leaders wanted Putin to hear European views alongside those conveyed by Washington. They proposed steps including ending attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure, halting strikes on ships carrying Ukrainian grain and arranging prisoner exchanges.

Accounts differed over the substance of the conversation. The Kremlin said Putin discussed what it calls the war’s “root causes.” Citing three people familiar with the call, the Financial Times reported that Putin spent much of it delivering a historical monologue and that an immediate ceasefire was barely discussed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the call offered nothing new and accused European countries of seeking a place in negotiations.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticised the initiative and questioned whether it had been coordinated with other European governments. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed coordination with Kyiv, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the leaders discussed de-escalation, particularly around energy infrastructure.