The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has commented on recent telephone contacts between the leaders of Finland and Norway and the Russian leadership. According to MFA spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, these calls were not spontaneous: they were preliminarily agreed upon with the Ukrainian side during a meeting in Oslo and aimed at conveying specific signals to Vladimir Putin that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had asked to pass along.
Coordinated Signals via Oslo
As Tykhyi noted, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre "voiced these signals, positions, conveyed the things that the President asked to convey." The ministry emphasized that both countries share a border with Russia and have a direct interest in regional security, thus acting as Ukraine's partners in peace efforts. According to RBC-Ukraine, the telephone conversation between Stubb, Støre, and Putin took place on October 27 ahead of scheduled diplomatic meetings in Abu Dhabi, with the main topics being steps toward ending the war and European security issues.
Warning for European Leaders
The MFA also issued a direct warning to other European politicians. Heorhii Tykhyi stated that Kyiv is against "any uncoordinated, amateurish calls for the sake of goodness knows what" and urged leaders who want to facilitate the peace process to consult with Ukraine in advance. According to the ministry representative, conversations with the Russian leadership in themselves bring no benefit unless they are part of a unified, coordinated strategy.
Kremlin Position and Analyst Assessments
Against the backdrop of these statements, analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that the Kremlin does not plan to change its position and rejects proposals for a full or partial truce, despite Ukraine's readiness to discuss possible diplomatic steps. Thus, the coordinated transmission of signals through Scandinavian intermediaries has not yet led to a public change in Moscow's course.
Broader Diplomatic Context
Kyiv's diplomatic activity is not limited to the Scandinavian track. Earlier, President Zelenskyy stated his readiness to meet with American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and emphasized Ukraine's support for an energy ceasefire on the condition that Russia also becomes part of the agreement. In other statements, the head of state linked his readiness to hold presidential elections with Moscow's agreement to a 60-day truce. All these initiatives, according to the Ukrainian MFA, must be conducted within the framework of a single coordinated strategy rather than through fragmented contacts with Moscow.
