Norway and Finland leaders hold rare call with Putin

The leaders of Finland and Norway have held a joint call with Vladimir Putin - rare contact between the Russian president and European leaders.

Finland's President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the aim of the call had been to "convey messages directly regarding future negotiations" towards peace. An end to the conflict in Ukraine "will not be achieved through silence," Stubb said.

Neither side suggested the needle had been moved on ending the war, which began when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Although the Finnish leader said the conversation with Putin had been "frank and substantive," Støre added that there were "big differences in views" with Putin.

Several European leaders have recently shown willingness to engage with Russia directly, but both Stubb and Støre pointed out their initiative was taken in their capacity as neighbours of Russia, rather than on behalf of Europe as a whole.

"We've not set out to speak on behalf of anyone other than ourselves," Støre said.

Stubb added the call had been prepared in consultation with Ukraine and the US following a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Nordic leaders and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo last week.

The first trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia talks since the start of the year are tentatively planned for early November in Abu Dhabi.

Zelensky later confirmed Stubb and Støre debriefed him after the call and said he was grateful for their "active support", while his Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the call had been "the right approach".

Finland and Norway, which border Russia, initiated the 90-minute call - held from Helsinki - to "discuss Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts to end the war and promote peace and stability in Europe", the leaders' offices said.

Støre added: "The war comes with enormous human and material costs... The suffering and destruction will impact generations."

The Kremlin said Putin told the leaders that "a just and lasting peace" would only be possible if Russia's interests were considered.

Putin also reaffirmed to the Nordic leaders what he views as the "root causes" of the conflict - his frequent shorthand for Ukraine's desire to exist as a sovereign state.

"A fair long-term peace settlement is possible only if Russia's legal interests are taken into account fully and unconditionally", Putin said.

All three parties reportedly agreed to continue their direct phone communication.

There was no official EU reaction to the talks. The dialogue had not been coordinated with other European leaders, the Danish and Swedish prime ministers said. "I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo," commented Sweden's Ulf Kristersson.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Stubb had informed him that Europe's position on the upcoming talks in the United Arab Emirates was "moderately optimistic".

Relations between the US and Ukraine and its European allies have soured since US President Donald Trump agreed to lift some sanctions from Russia, allowing Moscow to export oil to the America.

As the Trump administration's position on Russia has softened, several European leaders have said Europe should be trying to re-establish direct contacts with the Kremlin.

Stubb and Støre are the first European leaders to contact Putin since French President Emmanuel Macron's conversation with him in July 2025.

Soon after, Putin visited Alaska for a summit with Trump, and from then on Europeans were further sidelined from Ukraine peace talks. Moscow regularly mocks European leaders and accuses the EU of prolonging the war by supplying Ukraine with weapons.

But last weekend, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said having a European negotiator at the peace talks table would be "good".

And although he said Moscow did not view Finland and Norway as speaking on behalf of Europe, on Tuesday Peskov conceded that Stubb and Støre's talks with Putin had been "very constructive and practical talks with the leaders of two key neighbouring states."