One of the goals of Stubb and Støre's call to Putin was to assess the psychological state of the Russian president

One of the reasons for the call made by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to Vladimir Putin on October 27 was the desire to assess his psychological state (state of mind). Politico reported this on Monday, writes "Agency".

Assessing the Russian leader after the conversation, Støre described his behavior as "rational" and "professional".

"He clearly laid out his arguments," Støre clarified.

The publication reconstructed the behind-the-scenes story of the telephone conversation and its preparation based on talks with politicians, diplomats, and officials.

Stubb and Støre decided to intervene in the negotiation process regarding Ukraine, fearing its breakdown amid Donald Trump's criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and simultaneous statements that the Russian side behaved "normally," the publication states.

The President of Finland and the Prime Minister of Norway, who have known each other for many years and have closely collaborated on issues concerning Russia in their capacities as foreign ministers, had been exploring the possibility of a joint call to the Kremlin for several months without much publicity, Politico writes. According to the publication, Stubb and Støre concluded that it was very important to give a new impetus to the diplomatic process before the resumption of talks in Abu Dhabi.

The leadership of France, Germany, and the USA, as well as other European leaders, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, were informed in advance about the upcoming conversation, officials familiar with its preparation reported.

Representatives of Finland and Norway contacted Putin's entourage and agreed on the agenda for the conversation, the publication states. Each side was to present pre-prepared theses in turn, without interrupting the interlocutors.

Before the call, Stubb and Støre discussed in detail with Zelenskyy which positions should be conveyed to Putin, and after the conversation, they informed the Ukrainian president about its content.

During the conversation, according to some accounts, Putin shared his deep interest in Russia's past with Stubb and Støre, lecturing them on the history of Slavs and the origins of the war in Ukraine, Politico writes. The Financial Times was the first to report this. However, Stubb and Støre denied these reports. The Norwegian Prime Minister told Politico: "He did nothing of the sort."

One high-ranking official familiar with the circumstances of the conversation told Politico that Stubb and Støre patiently listened to the Russian president during the 90-minute discussion. However, other European officials, informed about the content of the call, denied that Putin lectured his interlocutors on history. They suggested that such claims are part of a Russian information campaign aimed at humiliating Europeans.

After listening to Putin's arguments, which, as the Norwegian Prime Minister noted, were "long known," Stubb and Støre conveyed Zelenskyy's position to him: territorial borders can only be discussed at the level of heads of state, during a personal meeting, and before that, de-escalation measures must be taken. Then the President of Finland and the Prime Minister of Norway moved on to issues of security in the Baltic Sea and the necessity of keeping this maritime route open for trade, Politico writes.

Putin took the idea of negotiations in Abu Dhabi seriously and informed Stubb and Støre that he would instruct his negotiators to prepare for a meeting to ascertain whether progress could be achieved, Politico writes.

"The very fact that he answers the call and that we have other ways to contact him, in my opinion, at least indicates a willingness to sit down at the negotiating table," Støre noted.

However, this conversation did not convince the Norwegian Prime Minister that Putin was truly ready to resolve the conflict.

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