Støre and Stubb Considered Calling Putin for Months, Politico Reports

The two leaders had hoped that the phone call at the end of October would show European determination to achieve peace in Ukraine. Instead, it drew sharp reactions from Nordic colleagues.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen noted that the call was not “coordinated with the rest of us”, while Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said it was primarily “not words that bite” at Putin.

Støre tells Politico that the purpose of the controversial contact was to move on from a situation in which only the United States is talking directly to Moscow:

To live month by month and believe that this war will end because Europe is not talking to Moscow, I think is an illusion.