Norway's prime minister, Finland's president in phone call with Putin

​Finnish President Alexander Stubb and ​Norwegian Prime Minister ‌Jonas Gahr ​Stoere on Tuesday held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war ‌in Ukraine, Stubb's office said in a statement.

Western European leaders have mostly shunned contact with Putin since Russia launched its full-scale war in ‌Ukraine in February 2022. "The discussion was frank and substantive. We ‌are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct ⁠discussions," ​Stubb said ⁠in a statement.

Russia has frequently accused European governments of stoking the war by arming Ukraine ⁠and refusing to talk to Moscow. It has contrasted their stance with that ​of US President Donald Trump, who has engaged with Putin ⁠and tried - so far without success - to broker a peace agreement.

Stoere and Stubb ⁠met ​US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Oslo last week, a day before Witkoff met Putin ⁠in St Petersburg. The Kremlin said after the Putin-Witkoff talks that Russia was ⁠willing to ⁠resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine in November, for the first time since February.