Finland and Norway are not mediators because they are “100% on Ukraine’s side,” the Finnish president said

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said Tuesday that the phone call he held together with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store with Vladimir Putin was not peace mediation, but a direct transmission to the Russian leader of Ukraine’s message. Stubb said the call, held with Kyiv’s approval, lasted approximately an hour and a half.

The two Nordic leaders prepared the call together with representatives of Ukraine and the United States after Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff discussed in Oslo on October 20 the possibility of direct contact with Putin. Stubb and Store said they had taken this initiative because peace negotiations were making no progress.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the messages conveyed were that Ukraine accepts any form of ceasefire and wants a meeting between the leaders. In the meantime, Kyiv is prepared for technical discussions in Abu Dhabi. Stubb says the way has been opened for the resumption of trilateral Russia-Ukraine-U.S. contacts, with European participation.

The Kremlin announced that Putin will meet with Zelenskyy only to sign a peace agreement in a third country.