Finland’s foreign minister has said that Helsinki is not looking to normalize relations with Moscow despite a phone call between the Finnish and Russian presidents. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to end it. The two Nordic leaders, who urged Putin to end the war, ruffled feathers among some allies, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticizing what she described as a lack of coordination with other European countries and telling Danish public broadcaster DR: “I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo.” Finland ended its decades-long policy of military non-alignment by joining the NATO military alliance in 2023 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Both Finland and Norway share a land border with Russia. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said that Helsinki is not looking to improve ties with Moscow but rather wants to advance steps toward peace, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported. Valtonen also reportedly added that “Finland is not seeking a role to mediate” in negotiations to end the war because it is “and will remain on the side of Ukraine.” “Unfortunately, Russia has not ended its war, but they keep escalating. So… we are supporting not only Ukraine but also the US-led peace process to find an end to this killing,” Finland’s foreign minister said, according to Ukrainska Pravda. The comments come amid a renewed diplomatic drive by the administration of US President Donald Trump to broker an end to the war after months of stalled negotiations. Previous US-led peace talks stalled earlier this year with the outbreak of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, while Kyiv continued to reject Moscow’s demands to cede Ukrainian territory it still controls. Ukrainian and Russian officials last week confirmed plans for further negotiations involving envoys from Washington, Moscow and Kyiv to be held in the first half of November in Abu Dhabi, although the exact date remains unconfirmed. Valtonen, cited by Finnish public broadcaster Yle, said opening direct negotiations between Russia and Europe would depend on the situation on the front line in Ukraine and, above all, on Moscow’s willingness to seek peace. “No such signs have actually been seen, despite the fact that Russia’s situation has weakened significantly both militarily and economically this year,” Valtonen reportedly said.
