The leaders of Finland and Norway speak with Putin and position themselves as mediators
The Kremlin sees the Finn Stubb as a potential negotiator for the European Union, but the Nordic neighbors criticize it
MoscowFor the first time since 2022, a European leader allied with Ukraine is viewed favorably by the Kremlin as a possible negotiator for the European Union. The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, spoke by phone this Tuesday with Vladimir Putin, together with the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and they have opened a path for dialogue that did not exist until now. However, the Russian president made it clear to them that a “just and lasting peace” will only be achieved if “the legitimate interests of Russia are taken into account fully and unconditionally.”
The call was the initiative of the Finnish and Norwegian leaders, who last week already met in Oslo with Volodymyr Zelenskyyand with Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. After the American emissary traveled to Saint Petersburg and conveyed the new proposals from the Ukrainian side to Putin, Kremlin spokespeople opened the door to the name of Stubb as a potential interlocutor for Brussels. “If he can make a constructive contribution, this can be evaluated positively,” noted Dmitry Peskov.
From Moscow’s point of view, the Finnish president is someone who knows Russia’s security priorities because Finland shares more than 1,300 kilometers of border with Russia and has long experience in bilateral relations. At the same time, Stubb has cultivated a good relationship with Trump and can project a certain pragmatism that, from Putin’s perspective, distances him from the anti-Russian orthodoxy of Brussels, represented by Ursula von der Leyen or Kaja Kallas. However, until now, Kremlin propaganda had portrayed him as a hostile leader and, therefore, an adversary.
The Russian president’s last conversation with a community partner of Zelenskyy was with Emmanuel Macron, in July 2025. This telephone conversation, therefore, has been another step in the Nordic leaders' attempt to claim an active role for Europe in the peace negotiations regarding Ukraine, although they wanted to emphasize that they have only spoken on their own behalf. “We are neighboring countries of Russia. The result of this war will have a direct impact on our security and that of Europe in general. Ending the war requires direct discussions,” argued Stubb.
Putin has shown himself willing to maintain contact with both, but he has not spared them his arguments regarding the nature of the conflict. Beyond claiming the importance of peace under Russian terms, he reminded them of the “fundamental causes” of the crisis, which is Moscow's way of justifying that its invasion is not the origin of the war, but the response to a coup d'état in Ukraine sponsored by the United States in 2014. He also insisted to them that if hostilities continue it is, in large part, due to the confrontational policy of the EU and NATO countries.
Tension between Nordic neighbors
In fact, the initiative by Stubb and Støre has been received with skepticism among their Nordic neighbors. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, warned the Danish TV2 that she is “very skeptical” about this kind of conversation and stressed that they have not been “coordinated” with the rest of the European countries. “I don't know what these two countries think they can achieve with this. We have already insisted before, when others have gone to Moscow on their own, that it is important that we Europeans act together,” she replied. The Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, was also unaware and said he has “quite low” expectations regarding the possible results of this diplomatic path. He also warned of the risk that it might give the impression that there are many voices in Europe.
After the call, the Finnish and Norwegian leaders addressed Zelensky to inform him of the content of the conversation. The Ukrainian president thanked them for this action aimed at seeking peace and the fact that both of them demanded steps toward de-escalation from Putin. He also highlighted the coordination with one another regarding the trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States in Abu Dhabi, in mid-November.
