Kremlin Reportedly Welcomed Finnish and Norwegian Leaders' Call to Putin
According to journalist Farida Rustamova, the Kremlin welcomed a call to Vladimir Putin from Finland's president and Norway's prime minister. Kremlin sources see it as a possible start of substantive talks with Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed an October 26 phone call from Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, journalist Farida Rustamova reported in her newsletter Vlast, citing Kremlin sources. According to them, the call could mark the beginning of substantive talks between Moscow and Europe. It matters because it was the first contact between European leaders who support Ukraine and the Russian president since July 2025, when French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Putin.
Why Moscow views the call positively
A source close to the Kremlin who is involved in the talks said Putin welcomed the call because he considers Norway and Finland less hard-line toward Russia than major European countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The source also said Finland and Norway want to set up a permanent, systematic process rather than limit themselves to one-off meetings.
What the call involved
Stubb and Støre called Putin in coordination with Kyiv, conveying Ukraine's position ahead of the resumption of talks. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry later said President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked them to convey, among other things, that he was ready to discuss "the territorial issue" at an in-person meeting with Putin.
The Financial Times reported that Putin spent most of the call on "the history of the Slavs in the Middle Ages." Støre publicly denied this and demanded that the newspaper correct its story, but it declined.
