Norway and Finland leaders hold rare call with Putin

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, Norway and Finland say they are not acting on behalf of other European leaders.

• Rosenberg: Russia agrees to Ukraine talks but sees little to talk about in new peace pushPublished5 days ago.

Publicado em 27 de outubro de 2026, 13:12 GMT.

Os líderes da Finlândia e da Noruega realizaram uma chamada conjunta com Vladimir Putin – um contato raro entre o presidente russo e os líderes europeus.

The aim was looking at "future negotiations to help to end the war" in Ukraine, the offices of President Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.

Their initiative was not on behalf of "Europe as a whole.

Após a ligação, Putin afirmou que as políticas “confrontational” da UE e da Nato estavam prolongando a guerra que começou quando a Rússia lançou uma invasão em grande escala em 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken to the two Nordic leaders after their conversation with Putin. Last week, Zelensky met them as well as US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo.

The Ukrainian leader said he was grateful for the "active support" of his Finnish and Norwegian counterparts.

A ligação telefônica de 90 minutos realizada na terça-feira na capital finlandesa Helsinque mostrou “grandes diferenças de opinião”, disse Støre.

Finland and Norway, which border Russia, initiated the call to "discuss Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts to end the war and promote peace and stability in Europe", the leaders' offices said.

The call was "frank and substantive", Stubb said, explaining that the war's outcome will "have a direct impact on our and the broader European security.

Støre acrescentou: "A guerra traz enormes custos humanos e materiais... O sofrimento e a destruição afetarão gerações.

The Kremlin said Putin told the leaders that "a just and lasting peace" would only be possible if Russia's interests were considered.

He - like Stubb and Støre - had agreed to continue their direct phone communication, the statement added.

Støre disse que todos os seus aliados foram informados da ligação com antecedência.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was "very sceptical" of Tuesday's dialogue, telling Danish broadcaster DR, it had not been "co-ordinated with any of the rest of us.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Stubb had informed him that Europe's position on the upcoming talks in the United Arab Emirates, was "moderately optimistic.

As relações entre o US, Ucrânia e seus aliados europeus têm se deteriorado desde que o presidente do US, Donald Trump, concordou em levantar algumas sanções contra a Rússia - permitindo que ela exporte petróleo para o US.

But last week, Stubb, Støre and Zelesnky met Witkoff in the Norwegian capital, before the US special envoy travelled on to St Petersburg to meet Putin.

Following the talks, Ukraine, Russia and the US agreed to resume three-way negotiations that Russia had stopped for months.

After speaking to the two Nordic leaders, Zelensky said part of their discussions with Putin had centred on November's trilateral talks to be held in Abu Dhabi.

Zelensky disse que havia discutido com eles “vários formatos para nosso engajamento com parceiros na Europa que poderiam ser úteis para apoiar ainda mais a diplomacia, nossa defesa e nossa segurança compartilhada.”.

Stubb and Støre are the first European leaders to contact Putin since French President Emmanuel Macron's conversation with him in July 2025.

As the US administration's position on Russia has softened, several European leaders have said Europe should be trying to establish direct contacts with the Kremlin.

Moscow regularly mocks European leaders and accuses the European Union of prolonging the war by supplying Ukraine with weapons.

Mas no último fim de semana, o porta‑voz do Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, disse que ter um negociador europeu na mesa das negociações de paz seria 'bom.