Stubb said that the call to Putin was arranged in coordination with Ukraine and the United States

Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated that preparations for a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin were made with the participation of Ukraine and the United States.

On October 27, Stubb, together with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre, held a phone call with Putin. The conversation lasted about an hour and a half. The Finnish leader shared details about the preparations and the call itself.

Details from Stubb

According to him, the conversation was a follow-up to the meeting in Oslo on October 20 and took place in cooperation with Ukraine and the United States. Key allies, including all Nordic Council countries, were informed about the call in advance, and after it concluded, they were briefed on its content.

After the conversation, he said, President Zelenskyy was given a roughly 30-minute briefing on how it went.

“We discussed the key issues and messages that we had agreed upon the previous evening before the call,” Stubb said.

He described the nature of the conversation as follows: “The conversation with President Putin was professional and straightforward.” 

Why the call was made

In addition, the leader explained the need for the call.

“Prime Minister Støre and I considered it important for neighboring countries, such as Finland and Norway, to clarify issues that could lead to misunderstandings. We also wanted to convey direct messages to the President of the Russian Federation from the perspective of the Nordic countries, particularly Finland and Norway,” he noted.

Stubb added that Finland and Norway will continue to support Ukraine and work toward achieving a lasting and just peace.

Meeting in Abu Dhabi

“The way has now been paved for a meeting involving the U.S., Ukraine, Russia, and European countries, which will take place in Abu Dhabi in November,” Stubb added. 

This was reported by Yle.

As a reminder, Putin has no intention of giving up his occupation of Donbas, according to Reuters.
 

Donald Tusk assessed the results of the talks between the leaders of Norway and Finland and Putin.