Alexander Stubb
Alexander Stubb is a Finnish politician and academic who serves as President of Finland. He previously held the posts of Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and was a member of the European Parliament. He holds a doctorate in international relations and has taught at the University of Helsinki.
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Zelensky Ready to Meet Putin in Türkiye as Ushakov Says Putin May Take His Call
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin in Türkiye if a meeting can be organized, describing Türkiye as a practical and realistic mediator. The Kremlin's Yuri Ushakov said Putin may respond to Zelensky's call and invited him to Moscow. No bilateral meeting has been confirmed.
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Erdogan tells Trump Turkey ready to help revive Ukraine-Russia talks
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told US President Donald Trump that Turkey is ready to help resume diplomatic efforts between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. The leaders spoke by phone on October 28 and also discussed bilateral ties and regional and international issues.
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Norwegian PM disputes Financial Times account of call with Putin
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre rejected a Financial Times report that Vladimir Putin dominated his October 27 call with Finnish President Alexander Stubb by lecturing on medieval Slavic history. Støre said the participants spoke for roughly equal amounts of time and that Putin was given an opportunity to explain his view of events since 2014. The dispute arose after Norway asked the publication to correct its report or publish a refutation, which Financial Times declined to do.
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Local ceasefire in occupied Oleshky opens window for aid and civilian evacuation
Ukraine and Russia began preparing a humanitarian mission in occupied Oleshky under a local ceasefire mediated by Melania Trump. The operation was planned to deliver food, clean water, medicines and doctors, and allow civilians who wish to leave to evacuate, while routes are being cleared of mines. Aid delivery and evacuation from the city hospital were planned for October 30, but the exact evacuation schedule and route remain uncertain.
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Trump Announces Forthcoming Zelenskyy-Putin Meeting as Abu Dhabi Talks Take Shape
US President Donald Trump said a meeting involving Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin would be organized "very soon," while expecting significant progress on the war in Ukraine. Ukraine said trilateral talks involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia were being prepared in Abu Dhabi, potentially on November 10, but no exact date had been confirmed by the Ukrainian presidential office.
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Finland and Norway leaders call Putin, assessing Moscow’s willingness for Abu Dhabi talks
Finland’s president Alexander Stubb and Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke to Vladimir Putin on October 27 about the war in Ukraine. After the 90-minute call, they told Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia appeared serious about a trilateral negotiating-group meeting in Abu Dhabi, although the European Commission sees little sign that Putin is ready for meaningful peace negotiations.
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Finland and Norway urge Putin to back Ukraine talks and de-escalation
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre initiated a roughly 90-minute call with Vladimir Putin on 27 October to convey Ukrainian signals on de-escalation and preparations for Ukraine-US-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi. The leaders said the war must end, negotiations must resume and Russia must take practical steps to protect Ukraine’s energy and infrastructure. The Kremlin said Putin maintained that lasting peace required Russia’s interests to be fully considered.
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Trump Says US Will Do Business With Ukraine and Russia After the War
Donald Trump said the US will continue doing business with both Ukraine and Russia once the war ends, adding that the conflict is now closer to ending than at any previous point. He made the remarks in Palm Beach on October 24 following early voting in the US midterm elections.
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Russia says ready to resume trilateral Ukraine-US talks after November 4
Russia is ready to resume trilateral negotiations with Ukraine and the United States after November 4, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. He expects the first meeting to be preliminary and technical, with no substantial results, while Ukraine says talks are planned for the first half of November and Washington says the parties are close to negotiations.
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Trump Weighs 200% Tariffs on Ukraine and Russia but Questions Their Effectiveness
Donald Trump said the United States could immediately impose 200% tariffs on Ukraine and Russia to pressure both sides to end the war, but questioned whether the measure would work because US imports from the two countries are relatively small. The proposal came amid diplomatic efforts involving Zelensky, Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin.
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Ukraine, US and Russia to hold trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, with European role unresolved
Ukraine, the United States and Russia have agreed to hold a trilateral meeting at the level of teams in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November 2026, although no exact date has been set. The talks are expected to focus on security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine after a peace settlement, while the United States is preparing new proposals involving security, sanctions and energy.
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Europe Weighs Five Leaders as Potential Negotiators With Russia on Ukraine
European countries are considering five current presidents or prime ministers as potential European negotiators with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine. After earlier efforts to agree on a single representative failed, the most likely option is a negotiating team that could help Europe adopt a common position and avoid competition over the role.
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EU has yet to agree who should represent Europe in possible talks with Putin
European governments are considering a single negotiator, or a group of negotiators, to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, but no consensus has been reached. Candidates include Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. The debate intensified after US envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting involving Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Zelensky urges Trump to pressure Putin, keep sanctions and provide air defense missiles
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Donald Trump could help end Russia’s war against Ukraine and force Vladimir Putin to negotiate if he applied the same rhetoric toward Putin that he uses toward Zelensky. He named two priorities for Ukraine’s allies: preserving sanctions against Russia and supplying more effective air defense missiles. Zelensky also rejected Trump’s claim that Ukraine is responsible for rising US diesel prices.
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Pavel says US-Russian diesel deal relieved pressure on Moscow and may have cost a ceasefire
Czech President Petr Pavel said a US agreement allowing Russia to supply diesel fuel to the United States weakened sanctions pressure and deprived Moscow of a ceasefire that had been close. He called the deal a mistake that could let Russia bypass Europe and Ukraine, while urging greater European involvement in peace negotiations.
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Witkoff brings Oslo proposals to Putin in St. Petersburg; Russia signals readiness for new trilateral talks in mid-November
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo on October 20, then traveled to St. Petersburg for a roughly three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 21. After the talks, Witkoff said Moscow was prepared to resume trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine negotiations in the second ten days of November. The St. Petersburg meeting opened with the announced release of American Stephen Hubbard, held in Russia for over four years.
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Zelensky Discusses Ukraine’s Defense Funding With Norway’s Political Leaders
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the speaker of Norway’s Storting and leaders of all the country’s political parties to discuss financial support for Ukraine, including its defense budget deficit. They also addressed efforts to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
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Oslo talks bring Zelensky, Witkoff and European partners together on security guarantees for Ukraine
On 20 October 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo, alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, with Jared Kushner joining remotely. The talks covered security guarantees for Ukraine, territorial questions, sanctions, post-war reconstruction and the European security order, and produced a document of guarantee options that Witkoff is to take to Moscow.
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Trump announces "energy ceasefire" with Russia; Kremlin declines to confirm, Ukraine says it wasn't told
On 11 October, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine was taking effect immediately, claiming both sides had agreed. The White House later told Axios that the proposal referred specifically to mutual cessation of strikes on oil refineries, described as "refinery for refinery." The Kremlin declined to confirm any deal, and within hours Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in Ukraine, including the TEC-5 thermal power plant in Kharkiv. Speaking by video link at the Warsaw Security Forum on 12 October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the announcement was news to him, that Ukraine has only one oil refinery while Russia has an extensive network, and that if Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire this winter, Ukraine will respond.
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Trump announces Russian diesel deal with Putin, urges Ukraine to choose a new president
On October 9, 2026, US President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced an agreement to allow between 300,000 and 3 million tons of Russian diesel fuel onto US and global markets. Trump then publicly attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of being able to end the war but choosing not to, and saying it was time for Ukraine to choose a new president. Zelenskyy called the decision weak and a gift to Russia that would fund the war, while bipartisan US lawmakers and European leaders condemned the agreement.