Stubb Calls Putin a ‘Perceptive, Well-Prepared’ Interlocutor

In an interview published Wednesday, Finland’s president defended last month’s rare phone conversation with the Kremlin, describing Vladimir Putin as a calm and attentive counterpart even as Moscow’s terms for ending the war in Ukraine remained unchanged.

The remarks were given at Alexander Stubb’s official residence in western Helsinki to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and other German media. They revisited the roughly 90-minute call that he and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre placed with Putin on Oct. 27 from Helsinki, after consulting Ukraine.

A Good, Direct Conversation

Stubb called the exchange “a good, direct conversation.” Putin, he said, is “very perceptive, very analytical, very well-prepared and very calm in the way he conducts a conversation.”

“And Putin can certainly listen,” the Finnish president added.

That assessment follows his official comment on the day of the call, when he said the discussion had been “frank and substantive.” Støre later called Putin “professional” and “rational,” while saying he had seen no sign so far that the Russian president was genuinely open to a deal.

Ukraine’s Messages, Moscow’s Unchanged Line

Stubb said the outreach was agreed with Ukraine and that he speaks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy every day. The purpose, he told the F.A.Z., was to convey Ukraine’s “key messages” on talks in Abu Dhabi directly to Russia.

He said he was not calling as a mediator but as a complete supporter of Ukraine. Russia’s position has not changed, he acknowledged: Putin continues to deny Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. What has changed, he added, is a return to the negotiating table, though he looked skeptically at an early peace agreement.

‘We Must Speak Directly With the Russians’

“If we want to be part of the negotiations, we cannot remain silent and keep the mute button pressed,” Stubb said. “Instead, we must speak directly with the Russians.”

“The most important thing is that we do not outsource European security to the United States,” he said. European governments, he added, should ask whether American policy toward Russia and Ukraine is fully in Europe’s interest, and should involve themselves in the talks if it is helpful but not identical.

Finland and Norway both border Russia, he noted, and the outcome of the war will bear directly on their security. “If the war ends, troops will be moved to the Finnish border,” he said.

Allies Briefed, One Negative Reply

Stubb rejected accusations that the call had divided Europe. On the contrary, he said, “this was the first time Europe was able to act as a mediator.”

Allies had been informed beforehand, he said, after which there was a lot of positive feedback and only one negative response. He now hopes that Germany, France, and Italy will take the lead in involving Europe in the negotiations.