Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, on Tuesday criticized the leaders of Finland and Norway for holding a joint telephone call with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, about how to end the war in Ukraine. The conversation took place before peace talks planned by the United States, which European leaders are trying to join. Frederiksen said Alexander Stubb of Finland and Jonas Gahr Store of Norway had acted without coordinating with their Nordic counterparts and asked what the two governments thought they could achieve. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed the conversation, describing it as the first among the three leaders. Stubb and Store said Ukraine had been consulted before they initiated it and stressed that they were representing their own countries, not Europe.
- Key Point: Frederiksen called the Finnish-Norwegian move uncoordinated and warned that Europe should remain unified rather than act alone.
- Key Point: Stubb and Store said Kyiv was consulted before they contacted Putin and stressed that they were not claiming to represent Europe.
- Key Point: Peskov confirmed the call; Stubb described it as frank and substantive, while Store said the leaders stressed de-escalation.
- Key Point: The contact came after an Oslo meeting on October 20 involving Stubb, Store, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy; a US-mediated ceasefire in Oleshky is due to last until November 1.
Frederiksen questions a solo approach
Frederiksen made her remarks to reporters while attending a meeting of Nordic leaders. She described the Finnish-Norwegian initiative as a solo move and said it had not been coordinated with the rest of the group. Her objection was not merely procedural: it raised the question of whether Europe’s response to the war should be channeled through common institutions or through national capitals with their own lines to Moscow.
"I’m very sceptical about this Norwegian and Finnish initiative. It hasn’t been coordinated with any of the rest of us."
She added that she did not understand what the two countries hoped to gain.
"I honestly don’t know what those two countries think they can achieve with this."
Her prescription was collective action rather than individual diplomacy.
"I believe we should keep Europe united, rather than going it alone."
She said the pair had gone solo, framing the issue as a choice between cohesion and freelancing.
The call, the Kremlin and the case for direct talks
Peskov’s confirmation gave the contact official standing in Moscow. Stubb described the discussion in positive terms. He and Store argued that direct conversations with the Russian leadership were necessary because the war’s outcome affects European security as a whole.
"The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions." Stubb called the conversation "frank and substantive."
Store focused on de-escalation. He said the leaders had stressed the need to lower tensions and pointed to the human and material toll of the conflict.
"The war comes with enormous human and material costs. The suffering and destruction will impact generations."
Both countries share a border with Russia and have backed Ukraine throughout the war. Their governments also insisted that the call was not an attempt to speak for the wider continent. According to Stubb and Store, Kyiv was consulted before the conversation, and the two leaders made clear that they represented only Finland and Norway.
Oslo groundwork, Kyiv’s follow-up and a local ceasefire
The call did not come from nowhere. On October 20, Stubb, Store, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met in Oslo. Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, joined remotely. After the Putin conversation, Zelenskyy spoke again with the Nordic leaders. Stubb said on social media that Finland and Norway would keep supporting Ukraine and the search for a just and lasting peace.
"Finland and Norway will continue to support Ukraine, and the efforts to find a just and lasting peace."
Separately, Davyd Arakhamia, Ukraine’s chief negotiator, said Tuesday that a US-mediated ceasefire in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town, would last until November 1. He described the arrangement as the biggest de-escalation since 2022 and argued that such moves brought peace nearer.
"This is the biggest de-escalation since 2022."
On Telegram, he added that each comparable move made peace more likely.
Unity versus national channels
The dispute leaves European governments facing a familiar dilemma. States on Russia’s border that have backed Ukraine may see value in direct contact with Moscow, especially before US-led talks begin. Other governments worry that separate national conversations can fragment a common position and weaken Europe’s leverage when the terms of any settlement are discussed. Frederiksen’s criticism reflects that fear: she wants a coordinated European voice rather than a set of parallel initiatives. Stubb and Store, by contrast, present their call as a limited national action, cleared with Kyiv and aimed at delivering messages directly to Putin. The planned US-led peace talks will test whether that approach produces anything useful. If it does, critics will face questions about how Europe otherwise gains influence. If it does not, the argument for a single, coordinated European channel will become harder to resist.