The European Commission said it was notified before Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb; it urged a “united message” for future talks.
Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed the advance notice at a Wednesday briefing in Brussels. She said the bloc should keep a “united message” in any engagement with Putin and that the Commission could not provide details about later discussions.
The Office of the President of the Republic of Finland said the leaders spoke in Helsinki on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The Finnish president’s office said the call followed the leaders’ Oct. 20 meeting in Oslo and was held in consultation with Ukraine. The office described the conversation as an initiative by the two leaders in their national roles, rather than an effort to represent Europe as a whole. It said they discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war and linked the call to upcoming meetings in Abu Dhabi, without specifying a date.
Christian Wigand, another Commission spokesperson, said Moscow had given no indication of readiness to end the war while the EU continued diplomatic efforts. He said the European Council was determined to increase pressure on Russia. Separately, he stressed the importance of sustained efforts to provide military support to Ukraine.
