President of Finland Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre tried to personally assess Russian President Vladimir Putin's willingness to end the war against Ukraine during their phone conversations with him. However, after a one-and-a-half-hour conversation, the Norwegian prime minister was not convinced that the Russian president is truly ready for a peace agreement.
Politico reported this on November 9, citing an interview with Støre and conversations with European diplomats and officials.
According to the publication, the leaders of Finland and Norway had been privately discussing the possibility of direct contact with the Kremlin for several months. They believed that European countries should not leave the United States as the only Western participant in negotiations with Moscow.
"We cooperate closely with our European partners in supporting Ukraine, but the only voice that reaches Moscow comes from Washington", Støre explained.
According to him, relying on the end of the war without direct contacts between European states and the Russian leadership would be an illusion.
One of the goals of the negotiations, according to knowledgeable officials, was to understand Putin's mindset and assess his behavior during a direct conversation.
Støre characterized the Russian president as a "rational" and "professional" interlocutor. He noted that Putin clearly presented his arguments, and the conversation itself followed pre-agreed rules: the sides took turns speaking with prepared statements without interrupting each other.
During the negotiations on October 27, Stubb and Støre also conveyed to Putin the position of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: territorial issues can only be discussed at a direct meeting of the leaders, which must be preceded by concrete de-escalation steps.
According to the Norwegian prime minister, Putin took seriously the prospect of trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia in Abu Dhabi and stated his intention to instruct his delegation to prepare for the meeting.
At the same time, Støre admitted that he had not received convincing evidence of the Kremlin's readiness to conclude a peace agreement. Despite the diplomatic consultations held, representatives of Norway and Finland do not expect a significant breakthrough at the negotiations in Abu Dhabi scheduled for November 10–11.
Politico notes that the decision by Stubb and Støre to call Putin independently drew criticism from Denmark, Sweden, and other European allies. Some states fear that individual contacts with the Kremlin could weaken Europe's common position. At the same time, supporters of such negotiations are convinced that European countries should independently represent their interests in the peace process.
Based on materials from: Politico, Government of Norway
