Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a 90-minute call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, speaking from Helsinki, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. The Stubb Støre Putin call drew criticism from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who pointed to divisions among European countries over the talks.
Stubb and Støre described the call as "frank and substantive," according to the Guardian. Støre said there were "big differences in views" with Putin, the Guardian reported.
According to BBC World, the Kremlin said Putin told the leaders that a just and lasting peace would only be possible if Russia’s interests were considered. The three leaders agreed to continue direct phone contact, the Kremlin said, as reported by BBC World.
Frederiksen said she was "very sceptical" of the initiative, which she said had not been agreed with any of the other European countries, according to the Guardian.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Europeans had offered "nothing new," the Guardian reported.
Stubb said the idea for the call originated at an October 20 meeting in Oslo with Zelensky, Støre and US envoy Steve Witkoff, according to The Hindu. The account of that meeting comes from this outlet alone.
Both leaders said they spoke as neighbours of Russia, not on behalf of Europe, according to The Hindu and BBC World. The call followed tensions between the US and Ukraine after Trump eased some Russia sanctions, the two outlets reported.
BBC World reported that Stubb and Støre are the first European leaders to contact Putin since French President Emmanuel Macron’s call with him in July 2025.
Trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia are tentatively planned for early November in Abu Dhabi, according to BBC World. The three leaders agreed to keep phone contact in the meantime.
Several gaps remain. The sources include no full Kremlin transcript or statement beyond the reported summaries, so Putin’s exact words come only from secondary reports. No direct response from the US administration to the call is included. Zelensky’s reaction comes from his social media post and BBC World, and no independent confirmation of his debrief is provided.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.