Finnish President Alexander Stubb has publicly commented on the details of the phone call with Vladimir Putin, which took place on October 27 with the participation of the Prime Minister of Norway. In an interview cited by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Finnish leader described the communication as "good and frank," and the Russian president himself as a "very insightful, very analytical, very well-prepared" interlocutor who "conducted the conversation very calmly." At the same time, Stubb stated that he does not have high hopes for immediate results from the trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
Details of the phone call: "insightful and analytical"
According to Stubb, during the conversation, which was also attended by the Prime Minister of Norway, one of the main topics was diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The Finnish president emphasized that Putin proved to be a disciplined and prepared negotiator: "He was very insightful, very analytical, very well-prepared and conducted the conversation very calmly," the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quotes Stubb as saying. Such a public characterization of the Russian leader by a sitting EU head of state is of great interest in European diplomatic circles, as Stubb has traditionally taken a hardline stance toward Moscow.
The "mute button" should not be pressed
Stubb also spoke about the need to maintain direct communication channels with the Russian side. "If we want to be involved in negotiations, we cannot stand on the sidelines and keep the 'mute' button pressed. On the contrary, we must talk directly with the Russians," the President of Finland declared. This position underscores his conviction that the West should not refuse direct dialogue with Moscow for the sake of formal participation in multilateral formats. For a country that joined NATO in 2023 and has a border with Russia of more than 1,300 kilometers, maintaining a line of communication with the Kremlin is an element of national security.
Cautious expectations from Abu Dhabi
Despite acknowledging the quality of the telephone contact, Stubb did not express optimism regarding quick results from the trilateral peace talks in the United Arab Emirates. He explicitly stated that one should not expect either a quick conclusion of an agreement or a high-level meeting between the presidents of Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. In his view, a realistic and acceptable outcome of the Abu Dhabi meeting would be at least an agreement to hold the next round of talks at a technical level. This assessment reflects the general tone in European capitals, where, according to European publications, expectations for the Middle Eastern platform remain restrained.
Secret preparation of the call and distrust of Washington
As previously reported by Politico, the leaders of Finland and Norway had been secretly discussing the idea of a phone call to the Russian president for several months. One of the key reasons, according to the same source, was distrust of the US position within the negotiation process. The fact that the conversation was prepared confidentially for months indicates that Scandinavian capitals view the direct line with Moscow as an independent diplomatic tool, independent of American coordination. In the context of the current talks in Abu Dhabi, this episode takes on additional significance: it demonstrates that European countries are seeking to preserve their own channels of influence on the progress of the peace process.
