Finland’s president and Norway’s prime minister held a “frank and substantive” discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the Nordic leaders said.
“The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also took part in the meeting remotely.
Ending the war requires direct discussions,” President Alexander Stubb said in a joint statement with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. The statement noted that the call had been “held in consultation with Ukraine” and followed a meeting in Oslo on October 20 between Store, Stubb and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as US envoy Steve Witkoff. Speaking to reporters in Helsinki, where Nordic leaders are meeting, Store said the 90-minute call had highlighted “big differences in views” on Ukraine.
“In the times we live in, it cannot be that only the US administration has a channel to talk to the Russian leadership.
Putin had during the call stressed that it was the EU’s and NATO’s “confrontational policy” that was “leading to a protraction of hostilities”, according to a statement from the Kremlin. The Kremlin said the three leaders had “agreed to continue maintaining direct contact by telephone”. European countries must be able to do that as well,” the prime minister told reporters.
