Finland and Norway Leaders Phone Putin in Rare Break With Europe's No-Contact Stance

Finland and Norway Leaders Phone Putin in Rare Break With Europe

The leaders of Finland and Norway have phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to press him to end the war in Ukraine, breaking a long-standing practice among Western European leaders of refusing direct contact with the Kremlin. Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke to Putin for about 90 minutes on Tuesday from Helsinki, then called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a joint statement.

Both leaders described the discussion as "frank and substantive". Stubb said ending the war requires direct discussions, noting that both countries border Russia and will feel the outcome directly. Støre said they stressed de-escalation, warning that the war's human and material costs "will impact generations". The call was held in consultation with Ukraine and linked to planned peace talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials in Abu Dhabi next month — the first such meeting since February.

The Kremlin's account showed no softening: it said a just peace is possible only if Russia's "legitimate interests" are taken into account unconditionally, and blamed EU and NATO policies for prolonging the fighting. A source close to the Kremlin said Putin told the pair Russia would not compromise on capturing Ukraine's whole Donbas region. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticised the move, saying Europe should "stick together rather than going solo". Both Nordic leaders stressed they spoke only for their own countries, not Europe as a whole, and that support for Ukraine continues unchanged.

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