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Europe has argued for months about who speaks to Moscow. On Tuesday two Nordic leaders settled it in their own way. Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre called Vladimir Putin from Helsinki, a week after meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo.
The Finnish presidential office says the call was made in consultation with Ukraine, to convey messages on future negotiations before planned meetings in Abu Dhabi. Stubb and Støre spoke as leaders of their own countries, not for Europe. Stubb's line was that ending the war requires direct discussions. Støre stressed de-escalation.
The Kremlin's version has a different emphasis. Putin spoke of the "root causes" of the war and said peace is possible if Russia's interests are fully taken into account. Moscow says all three men supported resuming US-Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, and that Putin blamed EU and NATO policy for slowing progress. It also reports that Stubb and Støre confirmed the importance of freedom of navigation and agreed to stay in contact. The Finnish readout mentions none of that. Zelenskyy thanked the two men and said they pressed Putin about attacks on energy infrastructure before winter.
The harshest reaction came from Copenhagen. Prime minister Mette Frederiksen said the call was not coordinated with other allies and that she did not understand what it would achieve. She compared it to the visit of Hungary's Viktor Orbán to Moscow, which the rest of the EU condemned as unauthorised freelancing. Sweden's Ulf Kristersson said he had low expectations and warned of splitting Europe's voice. Yle reports that he was not told in advance. Stubb and Støre say allies and other Nordic countries were informed beforehand. In Finland, former foreign minister Timo Soini criticised the lack of prior debate.
The Finnish ambassador to the EU, Jori Arvonen, briefed his counterparts on Wednesday in a restricted session, with electronic devices banned. Ukraine welcomed the call, and foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called it the right approach. We could not confirm reactions from Lithuania or from the EU institutions.
The context is Washington's dealmaking. Witkoff met Zelenskyy in Oslo last week and Putin in St Petersburg a day later, and Moscow brushed off the European ideas it heard. The European side wants working-level talks in which it has a seat, and no deal made over its head. Støre said Europe should talk to Russia to complement the US messages. Finnish analyst Tuomas Forsberg told Yle that Europeans had little choice after a round of US-led talks.
Europe has been told for a year that it needs a voice in the peace talks. Now two small countries have found one, and the others have objected to the way. The risk is the one Frederiksen named: a Kremlin that learns it can pick European interlocutors and play them against each other. The upside is a channel that Kyiv itself blessed. Watch two things. First, whether the Abu Dhabi talks go ahead around 10 November with Europeans in the working groups. Second, whether the next European leader to call Moscow is chosen by Brussels or by whoever dials first.
