Finnish and Norwegian leaders call Putin, then Zelenskyy

Details: The Finnish president's office said in a statement: "The call was a follow-up of the meeting in Oslo on 20 October and held in consultation with Ukraine."

Stubb and Støre initiated the call to discuss Russia's war against Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to end the war and promote peace and stability in Europe.

The statement also underlined that Stubb and Støre took part in the phone call "as leaders of their respective countries and did not speak on the behalf of Europe as a whole".

Stubb and Støre emphasised that Finland and Norway would continue their longstanding support for Ukraine. They stressed that the war must end and negotiations must continue.

"The discussion was frank and substantive. We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions," Stubb said.

Støre emphasised that during the phone call, the two leaders "stressed the importance of de-escalation".

Updated at 11:51: Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has reported that the Ukrainian leader is currently holding a call with Stubb and Støre.

Background:

• Earlier, Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Putin, said that Europe should be involved in talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials.
• The Telegraph recently reported that Russia may try to use the upcoming round of peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war to secure concessions from NATO.
• On 20 October, Zelenskyy, Støre and Stubb held talks in Oslo with US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
• Afterwards Witkoff travelled to St Petersburg to meet Putin, whom he described as a "humanitarian".
• On 23 October, Zelenskyy spoke with the US president's special envoys and said that a trilateral meeting at team level on ending Russia's war against Ukraine was planned for the first half of November.
• Ushakov claims that Russia is ready to resume trilateral talks with the US and Ukraine on ending the Russia-Ukraine war after 4 November.

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