‘Ending the war requires direct discussions,’ Finnish President Stubb said.

On Tuesday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin from Helsinki to discuss the Ukraine conflict and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and promote peace and stability in Europe.

RELATED:

Ukraine Announces Temporary Ceasefire in Oleshki To Begin on 27 October

Stubb described the discussion as “frank and substantive.” The call, initiated by Stubb and Store, was held in consultation with Ukraine, and aimed to convey messages directly to Putin regarding future negotiations to end the conflict and was related to upcoming meetings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

During the call, Stubb and Store stressed the need to end the conflict and resume negotiations, while reaffirming their continued support for Ukraine. Stubb said that Finland and Norway, both neighboring countries to Russia, would be directly affected by the outcome of the conflict, as would broader European security. “Ending the war requires direct discussions,” he said.

Store said the conflict had caused enormous human and material costs, with suffering and destruction that would affect generations, stressing the importance of de-escalation. Stubb and Store took the call as leaders of their respective countries and did not speak on behalf of Europe as a whole.

After the Stubb–Støre call with Putin, Ukraine’s foreign minister flies to Helsinki to meet Finnish and Norwegian leaders. https://t.co/1BtM4HeKwc

— Pietro Guastamacchia (@ilpiotr) October 27, 2026

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen questioned the move, describing it as “a dangerous step that divides Europe.” In an interview with Denmark’s TV 2, Frederiksen said the call “was not coordinated with the rest of us.” “I think we should maintain European unity rather than act alone,” she said.

Stubb, Store and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks on Ukraine with U.S. envoys in Oslo, Norway, on Oct. 20. Tuesday’s call was a follow-up to those talks.

Russia, Ukraine and the United States are reportedly planning to resume talks in the UAE in November. The negotiations have been stalled since the beginning of this year.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.