Finnish President revealed which messages from Ukraine he conveyed to Putin during their conversation

In an interview with Finnish broadcaster Yle, Stubb said that at Zelenskyy's request, he conveyed to Putin Ukraine's readiness to hold a bilateral meeting with Russia at the leaders' level, as well as Kyiv's proposals for de-escalation measures. According to the Finnish president, Zelenskyy would like to meet Putin in person to discuss, in particular, territorial issues and security.

The second message concerned possible steps to reduce tensions and achieve a ceasefire in specific areas. This included energy and energy facilities, food security, prisoner exchange, and infrastructure in general.

During the conversation, Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre were also able to question Putin about Russia's preparations for trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. Stubb called this part of the conversation useful.

When asked whether the conversation with Putin brought peace closer, the Finnish president replied that it should be seen rather as a step towards building trust. According to him, there was no retreat, but it is too early to talk about significant progress.

Stubb also stated that the resumption of Finland's contacts with Russia would happen gradually. At the same time, relations between the two countries in the future will no longer be what they once were.

In addition, Finland and Norway informed Putin that they do not approve of the activities of the Russian "shadow fleet" in the Baltic Sea.

Commenting on the publication in the Financial Times, which claimed that during the telephone conversation, Putin almost constantly told the presidents of Finland and Norway about the "historical root causes of the conflict" with Ukraine, Alexander Stubb denied this information.

"This does not correspond to reality. This is false information," the Finnish president stated.

According to him, Putin presented his own view on the events after 2014, including the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine. In addition, the Russian leader spoke about his version of the Istanbul negotiations, which took place in early March 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

The telephone conversation between the President of Finland, the Head of the Government of Norway, and Vladimir Putin took place on October 27 at the initiative of the two European leaders. Earlier, Stubb described it as open and businesslike. Zelenskyy, after the conversation, reported that Stubb and Støre clearly stated to Putin the need for real steps for de-escalation, including regarding Ukrainian energy and infrastructure. The next day, the Ukrainian president said that he had the impression that Russia was seriously set on a meeting of negotiating teams in Abu Dhabi.

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