Behind the scenes of the conversation with Putin. "90-minute speech about the Slavs"

The conversation with Putin turned into a historic lecture

On Tuesday, October 27, the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, and the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Store, spoke by phone with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The initiative came from the leaders of Nordic countries who wanted to raise the issues of diplomatic actions to end the war in Ukraine and security and stability in Europe.

As described by the Financial Times, the course of the conversation differed significantly from the expectations of European politicians. The telephone meeting was scheduled to last just under 30 minutes, but ultimately lasted about an hour and a half.

According to three people familiar with the conversation, Putin spent much of that time talking about the medieval history of the Slavs. The Kremlin presents such considerations as an explanation of the "root causes of the conflict."

Instead of moving on to specific proposals to end the fighting, the Russian leader was to focus on his own interpretation of the history of the region and the relationship between Russians and Ukrainians.

"Vladimir Putin spent most of his telephone conversation with the leaders of Finland and Norway lecturing them about the medieval history of the Slavs. The course of the conversation shows how difficult it is for Europe to win an important role in the upcoming peace negotiations with Russia," writes the Financial Times.

The ceasefire faded into the background

The findings of the Financial Times show that the issue of an immediate ceasefire, which is one of Ukraine's main demands, has been discussed only to a small extent.

The leaders of Finland and Norway deliberately did not interrupt Putin. In this way, they wanted to check whether the Russian president is really interested in dialogue with Europe, or whether he is using the conversation primarily to present his own narrative regarding the war.

This course of the conversation shows how difficult it remains to engage Ukraine's European allies in direct talks with Moscow. The mere fact of entering into a dialogue does not mean that both sides are ready to discuss specific conditions for ending the conflict.

Putin returns to his version of history

Referring to history and questioning Ukraine's separateness from Russia have been an important element of Putin's argumentation for years. The Russian leader has repeatedly presented the two nations as closely linked, while questioning the historical foundations of Ukrainian statehood.

According to the Financial Times, a similar pattern also appeared during Putin's meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska in August 2025. The Russian president also allegedly made extensive references to medieval Slavic rulers.

Putin also used historical arguments in public statements preceding the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In his narrative, history is intended to justify the special ties between the two countries and question the validity of their current political separation.

However, such claims are part of Russia's interpretation of the past, and not proof that Ukraine does not have the right to decide on its own future.