Norway and Finland Call Putin Directly as Europe Fumes: 2 Nordic Leaders Bypass EU
Finland and Norway have held rare direct phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, bypassing wider European Union coordination as tensions over Ukraine continue. The move drew suspicion from other European capitals, with Swedish leaders warning that talking to Moscow should not mean staying silent about the war.
The prime ministers of Finland and Norway held telephone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with both the Norwegian Prime Minister's Office and the Kremlin confirming the conversations [272571]. The two Nordic leaders acted without coordinating with the wider European Union, and other European countries view the move with suspicion [272896].
Finland's President Alexander Stubb said that ending the war in Ukraine "will not be achieved through silence" [272626]. His comment came after the rare joint call between the leaders of Norway and Finland and Putin, a move that is unusual in current European diplomacy. Stubb stressed that peace requires open discussion, not silence, and made clear that talking to Moscow is not the same as staying quiet about the war [272626].
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson commented on the calls with low expectations. "My view is that everyone wants peace except Putin himself," he said. "I have fairly low expectations for this kind of conversation" [272571].
The direct outreach comes as tensions between Russia and Europe remain high. Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said European institutions continue to make demands of Russia that are "entirely detached from reality," suggesting there is little sign of meaningful dialogue between Moscow and Brussels [273632].
In western Ukraine, people in Lviv offered a clear message about the Nordic calls: do not get pulled into political theater, and demand concrete answers [272557].