TheContinentalRift

Finland's President @alexstubb has provided important new details about his phone call with Vladimir Putin. Speaking to Finnish public broadcaster Yle, Stubb explicitly rejected the Financial Times' account that Putin had spent most of the 90-minute conversation delivering a lengthy history lecture. According to Stubb, Putin opened by presenting his familiar interpretation of events since 2014. But the conversation then developed into what Stubb described as a normal, substantive and concrete exchange, with information flowing in both directions. More importantly, Stubb explained the diplomatic logic behind the call. The initiative emerged from discussions with Ukrainian and American representatives following the Oslo meeting on 20 October. Both Kyiv and Washington were consulted and gave their green light. The timing was deliberate: Finland and Norway wanted to speak to Putin before the planned US–Ukraine–Russia negotiations in Abu Dhabi. And Stubb has now clarified the broader objective: to create conditions for a possible face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin. The immediate task is to make progress in Abu Dhabi. A meeting between the two presidents would be a subsequent step, provided the negotiations produce sufficient grounds for one. Stubb also made clear that Finland is not seeking a seat at the negotiating table. He acknowledged the difficulties Europeans have faced in agreeing on a single representative. To me, this puts the initiative in a clearer perspective. The call was not intended as a breakthrough in itself. It was one step in a diplomatic sequence designed to keep the negotiations moving and ultimately bring the two presidents together. Whether Putin is genuinely prepared to negotiate remains an entirely different question. His fundamental objectives have not changed, and there is every reason to remain sceptical. The real test comes next: what happens in Abu Dhabi, and whether Moscow is prepared to move beyond repeating its existing demands. yle.fi/a/74-20254360