Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for phone talks with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to discuss the prospects for a peace deal in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.
The three leaders may speak as soon as Tuesday, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential issues.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Norway’s government spokeswoman Ragnhild Simenstad declined to comment immediately. Stubb’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The planned talks follow a revived effort to get peace negotiations on track, with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visiting Putin in St. Petersburg last week. Witkoff traveled to Russia after holding talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the two Nordic leaders.
It would be the first direct contact between Putin and top European leaders allied with Kyiv since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his Russian counterpart in July last year.
Ukraine’s European allies are seeking a seat at the table on discussions about European security, and both Støre and Stubb have used their countries’ shared border with Russia as justification for why they should be part of the talks.
Peskov said after last week’s talks that Russia regarded Norway and Finland as new participants in efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine that’s now in its fifth year. Russia will see “whether they can do so at all,” he said.
Ukraine’s relations with the US are at a new low after Trump struck a diesel deal with Putin earlier this month and tensions flared over the slowing of Starlink internet connections that are vital to Kyiv’s ability to defend against Russian missile attacks. Budget needs are spiraling and the country lacks the air defenses needed to fend off Russia’s expected winter onslaught.
This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.