Finnish president Stubb joins list of EU leaders seeking to tame Putin, in a 90-minute Kremlin phone call that caused a rift with Denmark

Finland’s president has caused a minor EU diplomatic fiasco by phoning Russian president Vladimir Putin out of the blue. Finland’s Alexander Stubb sat down together with Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Helsinki on Tuesday (27 October) and “initiated” the call to Putin, in what was already a submissive gesture in protocol terms. Their discussion lasted 90 minutes and was “frank and substantive” Stubb’s readout said, while Støre said he had “stressed the importance of de-escalation”. But Putin told them he would make zero concessions, for instance on Ukrainian territories he claims are now Russian. Putin “assessed the current situation in the Ukraine conflict zone, reiterating its root causes and emphasising that a just and lasting peace would be possible only if the interests of the Russian Federation are considered in full and without any conditions attached”, the Kremlin readout said. Putin also belittled them by saying “the EU and Nato’s confrontational policies … result in prolonging the hostilities”. To read this story, log in or subscribeEnjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives, comment and gift articles. Become a subscriber for as low as €1,75 per week.Read without limitsAlready a subscriber? Login