Finland's President Alexander Stubb and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a joint call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as part of international efforts to secure an end to the war in Ukraine.
The two leaders, firm allies of Ukraine, were not speaking as official representatives of Europe as a whole, and the conversation was held in consultation with Kyiv. In a statement after the call, Stubb described the discussion as "frank and substantive."
"We are neighboring countries to Russia," Stubb said. "The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions."
Støre said the European leaders stressed the importance of de-escalation. "The war comes with enormous human and material costs. The suffering and destruction will impact generations," he added.
The call comes at a sensitive moment as US President Donald Trump pushes for a peace deal. Talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine are planned to take place in Abu Dhabi next month. Stubb's office described the call as a follow-up to talks in Oslo on Oct. 20, in which the two European leaders were joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who then traveled to meet Putin in Russia the following day.
According to a statement from the Finnish president's office, the two leaders wanted to tell the Russian leader directly that they would continue supporting Ukraine and that peace negotiations must resume, looking ahead to the planned meetings in Abu Dhabi. They also told the Russian leader that they had a shared interest in the stability of the Baltic Sea region and the High North.
The last staunch European supporter of Ukraine to speak to Putin at leader level is believed to have been French President Emmanuel Macron in 2025. Some EU leaders, including Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico and former Hungarian premier Viktor Orban, have maintained semi-regular contact with the Russian president in recent years despite the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
EU diplomats and officials have been considering how to ensure Ukraine's allies in Europe can play a meaningful part in negotiations on a ceasefire and a longer-term peace agreement. Stubb's name has emerged as one potential leader who could represent Europe and bolster Ukraine in face-to-face talks with Trump and Putin. He is one of the few EU leaders and Ukraine backers who has maintained a relationship with Trump at a time of strained transatlantic relations, and Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia.