Finnish and Norwegian leaders call Putin: state media and independent outlets differ on emphasis
TASS and RIA say Finland and Norway will not mediate and that the Kremlin welcomes their willingness to talk. Meduza, The New York Times and Ukrainska Pravda describe who started the call and how Europe reacted.
What Russian state media says
- UnverifiedTASS: Finland and Norway do not intend to mediate a settlement of the Ukraine conflict.TASS
- UnverifiedTASS: both countries support the idea of a trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi.TASS
- UnverifiedRIA Novosti: the Kremlin called the decision of Norway and Finland to talk with Russia important.РИА Новости
What is documented
- Stubb and Støre spoke with Putin by phone. Meduza and The New York Times both place the call within diplomatic efforts to advance talks on ending the war. Meduza reports that the Western leaders initiated it.Meduza · The New York Times
- Finnish Foreign Minister Valtonen said Finland does not seek to mediate because it stands with Ukraine and supports the US-led peace process. This covers Finland only, and the Ukrainska Pravda summary does not mention Abu Dhabi.Ukrainska Pravda
- The New York Times reports that European leaders are split and that the outreach was not welcomed by all of them. Meduza cites a source close to the Kremlin warning of escalating hybrid warfare with Europe.The New York Times · Meduza
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke with Vladimir Putin by phone on 27 October. Meduza and The New York Times both describe the call as part of diplomatic efforts to advance talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
According to Meduza, the Western leaders initiated the call. RIA Novosti presents it as the Kremlin calling the Norwegian and Finnish decision to talk with Russia important. The RIA item as provided does not say who made the first move. No other independent item in this batch confirms Meduza’s account of who initiated the call.
TASS reports that Finland and Norway do not intend to mediate and support a trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi. Ukrainska Pravda quotes Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen saying Finland does not seek to mediate because it stands with Ukraine. She said Finland will keep backing Ukraine and the US-led peace process. No independent item in this batch mentions Abu Dhabi or any Norwegian statement on mediation.
The New York Times reports that the call was not welcomed by all European leaders and that they are split over it. Meduza adds that a source close to the Kremlin warns of escalating hybrid warfare with Europe. Neither claim appears in the state-media items.