Yle panel to examine Stubb and Støre’s call with Putin

Yle’s A-studio will examine the significance of Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. International politics professor Tuomas Forsberg of Tampere University and former foreign minister Timo Soini will discuss the call in a live broadcast scheduled for 9 p.m.

The roughly 90-minute conversation covered limiting military operations, particularly those affecting energy production, as well as food security, Stubb said. The call followed a meeting in Oslo a week earlier between Stubb, Støre and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They met US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who travelled from Oslo to meet Putin.

The call was intended to prepare for a meeting in Abu Dhabi in November involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia. Stubb said at a Nordic Council meeting that European representatives would also attend. The Kremlin said the three leaders agreed to stay in telephone contact.

The call has drawn mixed reactions. Stubb said it was prepared in coordination with Ukraine and the United States. Zelensky thanked Stubb and Støre, saying that concrete action was needed to reduce attacks on Ukraine’s energy system and infrastructure.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the call had not been coordinated with other European countries and stressed the importance of European unity. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also said he had not been told about the call in advance. Støre said all countries allied with Finland and Norway had received advance notice, while Stubb said all the Nordic countries had been informed.