Finland and Norway leaders face Nordic backlash over phone call to Putin

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a joint phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as reported by Euronews, BBC News, and UPI. The initiative aimed to urge Putin to end the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and prepare for future negotiations to end the war, according to Euronews and BBC News. BBC News noted that this was the first direct communication between European leaders and the Russian president in more than a year. [1][4][7]

Euronews reported that the phone call lasted 90 minutes. Offices for Stubb and Støre stated that the effort was not made on behalf of Europe as a whole, according to BBC News. Following the conversation, Putin stated that confrontational policies by the European Union and NATO were prolonging the conflict, BBC News reported. Euronews added that Støre recently hosted peace talks in Oslo. [1][4]

The surprise outreach created a rare rift among Nordic neighbours, Euronews reported. The prime ministers of Denmark and Sweden publicly questioned the move, while DW reported that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticised the two leaders for contacting Putin without coordinating with European allies. RTE described the discussion between the leaders as frank and substantive. [1][5][6][9]

Finland is a Nordic country in Northern Europe that borders Sweden, Norway, and Russia. Denmark is the southernmost Scandinavian country, lying south of Norway and southwest of Sweden. [11][12]

DW reported that the diplomatic disagreement highlights broader divisions over how European nations should engage with Moscow ahead of planned peace talks led by the United States. [6]