Stubb and Støre Brief Zelensky After Their Call With Putin on Ending the War

In brief

• Zelensky held talks with Finland's and Norway's leaders after they called Putin.
• The Nordic leaders urged real de-escalation steps on energy and infrastructure.
• A Ukraine-US-Russia team-level meeting is planned for November.
• The Kremlin blamed NATO and EU policy for prolonging the war.

Nordic leaders relay their message to Moscow

Zelensky said Stubb and Støre told Putin that real steps to de-escalate energy and infrastructure strikes are needed (Зеленський розповів деталі розмови з лідерами Фінляндії та Норвегії після їхнього дзвінка Путіну – Українська правда). The Ukrainian president thanked the two leaders for a detailed briefing on their conversation with the Russian leader (Зеленский заявил о разговоре со Стуббом и Стере после их звонка Путину – NV).

Trilateral talks planned for November

The call also covered preparations for a meeting at team level between Ukrainian, American and Russian representatives, scheduled for November. Zelensky said the earlier discussions in Oslo with representatives of America, Europe and NATO formed the basis of this work.

Nordic countries stress security interests

Zelensky argued that Finland and Norway, as states bordering Russia, have a particular interest in sound and reliable security arrangements. Various formats for cooperation with European partners were also discussed as a way to support diplomacy and shared security.

Kyiv and Moscow remain apart

Zelensky said peace must come, de-escalation is needed and Russia must stop dragging out the war. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said the three leaders' conversation was ongoing and that details would not be disclosed for now (Зеленський проводить розмову з лідерами Європи після їхніх переговорів із Путіним: що відомо – TSN). The Kremlin, for its part, blamed NATO and EU confrontational policy for prolonging the war and said a lasting peace requires Russia's interests to be taken into account.

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