Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, during which the three leaders discussed ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Moscow confirmed the call shortly after officials in Helsinki and Oslo released statements about the conversation, which marks the first time a leader from one of Ukraine’s European allies spoke to Putin since French President Emmanuel Macron’s phone call with the Kremlin chief in July 2025.
Stubb’s office said he and Støre initiated the call in order to “discuss Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts to end the war and promote peace and stability in Europe.”
It said the aim of the outreach, made in consultation with Ukraine, was “to convey messages directly regarding future negotiations to help to end the war to President Putin,” adding that it was also “related to the upcoming meetings to be held in Abu Dhabi.”
Both Finland and Norway said their leaders were speaking as representatives of their respective countries and did not speak on behalf of Europe as a whole.
“In the call we stressed the importance of de-escalation,” Støre’s office said in its statement about the call with Putin.
The Kremlin said Putin “reiterated the root causes” of his decision to order the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the phone call, he also “drew attention to the confrontational policies of EU and NATO member states, which he noted serve to prolong the hostilities.”
Stubb, Støre and Putin also discussed security and stability in the Baltic Sea and Northern European regions, the Kremlin’s readout said. The three leaders agreed to maintain direct contact moving forward, it added.
Tuesday’s phone call comes a week after Stubb and Støre met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo. The purpose of the Oslo talks was to mend strained relations between Kyiv and Washington, as well as to seek a new path out of the war.
Witkoff later met with Putin in St. Petersburg to report on progress in efforts to end the conflict. The Kremlin said it is willing to resume U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi as soon as next month.
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