Change of position? Finnish and Norwegian leaders hold phone call with Putin

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) After about a 90-minute phone call, Finnish President Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Steller jointly issued a statement, saying that the dialogue with Putin was "frank and full of substance." As a neighboring country with Russia, "the outcome of this war will directly affect our security and that of Europe as a whole. Ending the war requires direct dialogue."

Norwegian Prime Minister Steller also said that the war caused huge casualties and property losses. "The suffering and destruction it will bring will have far-reaching consequences and affect generations. We emphasized the importance of de-escalating the situation during the call." He also admitted that there are still huge differences between him and Russia.

According to an assistant to Ukrainian President Zelensky, the leaders of Norway and Finland called Zelensky after speaking with Putin. In the joint statement, Norway and Finland also reiterated their firm support for Ukraine and emphasized that this support will continue.

Putin shows no willingness to compromise

The minutes of the call released by the Kremlin showed that Putin did not show any willingness to compromise on Russia’s position that he had previously stated. The Russian Presidential Palace stated that Russia emphasized during the phone call that "a just and long-lasting peace will be possible only if the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation are fully and unconditionally taken into account." President Putin also pointed out during the call that "the confrontational policies of the EU and NATO countries are leading to the prolongation of hostilities."

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leaders of Western European countries have mostly avoided direct contact with Putin while constantly imposing sanctions on Moscow.

However, the international environment is now changing. Many European countries now believe that the unpredictable and erratic Trump is trying to seize control of the Russia-Ukraine peace process and that the US president is favoring Putin at the expense of Ukraine.

As recently as October, Putin agreed to supply Russian diesel to the United States, while Trump eased sanctions on Russia and claimed it was time for Ukrainians to change their leadership and remove Zelensky. In addition, Ukraine also complained that the U.S. intelligence sharing mechanism and the satellite Internet service that the Ukrainian military relied on were disrupted.

Denmark slams Norway, Finland for "unauthorized actions"

However, the leaders of Norway and Finland also emphasized that this call to Putin only represented their own countries and did not represent the entire Europe, but they had informed all partners and allies in advance. This drew criticism from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. She said that she did not see any signs of Russia seeking peace. "I think Europe should unite and not act on its own."

According to Reuters, citing Kremlin sources, before this phone call with the leaders of Norway and Finland, Putin’s last phone call with European leaders was in July this year, but that conversation with French President Macron did not achieve any results and was not announced to the public. The source also said that in today's call with the leaders of Norway and Finland, Putin said that Russia would not compromise on the goal of seizing the entire Donbas region of Ukraine; while Norway and Finland responded that "a 'just' peace needs to be achieved."