Støre Rejects FT Report That Putin Spent 90-Minute Call Giving History Lecture

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has rejected a Financial Times report that Russian President Vladimir Putin spent most of a recent phone call delivering a lecture on medieval Slavic history, saying the newspaper’s account is false. “We have asked the Financial Times (FT) to correct it, because it is not true,” Støre told Norwegian broadcaster TV 2.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Earlier, FT reported that Putin dominated a call with Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, using much of the conversation to discuss medieval Slavic history rather than efforts to ease tensions and establish a European channel for dialogue with Moscow. The call took place on Tuesday, Oct. 27, following discussions in Helsinki. According to TV 2, the Nordic leaders intended to explore opportunities for de-escalation and open a European channel for talks with Russia. Citing three anonymous sources, the FT reported that Putin spent almost the entire conversation giving a history lesson. Støre offered a different account, saying Putin had asked to explain his view of the current situation and then reviewed events from 2014 to the present. “That he gave a lecture on Slavic history is simply not correct,” Støre said. The call was initially expected to last just under 30 minutes but continued for around 90 minutes. Støre denied that Putin had monopolized the conversation, saying the time was distributed relatively evenly between the participants. Other Topics of Interest Zelensky Says Ukraine-Russia-US Peace Talks Could Take Place on Nov. 10 Kyiv wanted negotiations to begin sooner, with Zelensky saying he had proposed a meeting for Sunday before deciding to wait until US voting ends. “We had an hour and a half. There were interpreters, so some time goes to interpretation. I think the time was fairly evenly distributed. We probably spent about the same amount of time,” he said. Støre added that the leaders had also presented messages to Putin and asked for his response. FT stands by its reporting Støre has asked the FT to correct its account, but the newspaper has declined to make changes. “We stand by our journalism,” a FT spokesperson told Norwegian newspaper VG on Wednesday, according to TV 2. The newspaper declined to comment further or explain the basis for its reporting, TV 2 said. TV 2 said it had also tried to reach Financial Times news editor Amy Austin and the journalists who wrote the report but had not received a response at the time of publication. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had been informed in advance about Støre and Stubb’s planned conversation with Putin. The Nordic leaders discussed the initiative with Zelensky after meeting him in Oslo on Tuesday and briefed him again immediately after their call with Putin. According to Zelensky, Støre and Stubb wanted to convey their positions directly to Putin and discuss preparations for a planned meeting of Ukrainian, US and Russian negotiating teams in Abu Dhabi in November. They told Zelensky that Moscow appeared serious about attending, with the agenda expected to include initial de-escalation steps, Ukraine’s security priorities and ways to end the war. Zelensky welcomed the initiative, saying Norway and Finland wanted to establish another channel of communication between Europe and Russia, allowing European countries to receive information directly rather than relying solely on Washington. He said the two countries should share the results with other European governments and coordinate further discussions with Ukraine, Europe and the United States. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.