Stephen Storr
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Finland and Norway leaders call Putin, pressing for Ukraine de-escalation
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a Ukraine-coordinated phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 27 October. They called for de-escalation, real steps to protect Ukraine’s energy and infrastructure, and the resumption of negotiations, but the Kremlin said Putin maintained that peace required fully accounting for Russia’s interests. The call followed the leaders’ meeting in Oslo on 20 October and was intended to prepare the ground for Ukraine–US–Russia talks in Abu Dhabi.