The conversation between Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin sparked controversy among European leaders. Some politicians fear that separate talks with Moscow could weaken Europe’s common position, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supported the initiative. Politico reports, UNN writes.
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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she viewed such contacts “very skeptically.” Her Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, stressed that peace in Ukraine must be achieved through strength, not appeasement of Russia.
At the same time, an unnamed European official warned that independent negotiations between individual states and the Kremlin could undermine European unity. In his view, it would be more effective to use diplomatic formats that already exist, including cooperation among Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
Zelenskyy explained why he supports dialogue with Putin
The President of Ukraine thanked the leaders of Norway and Finland for opening an additional channel of communication that allows Europe to convey its position directly to Moscow rather than relying solely on the United States.
Zelenskyy emphasized that European countries had previously maintained contacts with Russia through national security advisers and intelligence services.
Here, everything is happening completely openly: prior discussions, a full briefing, and transparent objectives
For his part, Støre said that the main purpose of the conversation was to clearly convey to Putin the European position on ending the war. He expressed concern that, during contacts with the United States, the Russian leader might not receive all the necessary signals from Europe.
Italy also criticized the lack of unified European representation at the peace talks and called for negotiators with a common mandate to be appointed.