A rare Nordic divide emerged Tuesday when the leaders of Denmark and Sweden publicly reprimanded their Finnish and Norwegian counterparts for having a surprise phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The call was the initiative Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who recently hosted a series of peace talks in Oslo.
Both leaders urged Putin to end the large-scale invasion of Ukraine and engage in meaningful negotiations to achieve a stable and peaceful settlement.
“The discussion was frank and substantive,” Stubb said.
“The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our security and that of Europe at large. Ending the war requires a direct debate,” he added.
“We emphasized the importance of de-escalation,” Støre said.
The text clearly states that Stubb and Støre addressed Putin as “leaders of their respective countries and did not speak on behalf of Europe as a whole.”
Immediately afterwards, Stubb and Støre telephoned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked them for their “active” support.
But the choreography did little to alleviate the negative reactions of their neighbors.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been highly critical, pointing to Russia’s escalation against Ukraine as proof that Moscow is not serious about diplomacy.
The Kremlin statement released after the call echoed Putin’s maximalist tone.
“I am very skeptical about this independent initiative by Norway and Finland. It was not coordinated with any of us,” Frederiksen said shortly after the call was made public.
“I see no signs that Russia desires peace with Europe, neither in the hybrid war that takes place every day, nor in Ukraine.”
Frederiksen questioned the effectiveness of this overture and drew parallels with previous attempts to go it alone, such as when former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán traveled to Moscow to meet Putin.
“I honestly don’t know what they think they can achieve with this,” she said.
“We have already stressed, with clear support from the rest of Europe, that when others go alone and, for example, go to Moscow, it is crucial that we Europeans stand united. This is something many of us have fought for.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also questioned the initiative, although in less harsh terms.
“I have the impression that everyone wants peace, except Putin. I expect quite little from this kind of (direct) talks,” Kristersson said.
“Holding negotiations that risk dividing the European voice is risky. Now, I’m not saying at all that they did it. I don’t know yet what those discussions were about,” he noted.
“Talks that encourage Russia to establish a decent peace on Ukraine’s terms are, of course, positive.”
In response to this reaction, Støre said that Europe should speak with Russia to complement the messages sent by the US administration, which has a different view of the war.
Stubb, Støre, Frederiksen and Kristersson were all in Helsinki, Finland, to attend a leadership-level session of the Nordic Council.
Tuesday’s political divide is significant given that all four countries still see eye to eye when it comes to Russia’s war against Ukraine. They are among the largest bilateral donors to kyiv and are strong advocates of the application of ever-tougher sanctions against Moscow.
Gn headline
