PUTIN PLANS CALLS WITH NORDIC LEADERS AS QUESTIONS REMAIN OVER HIS WILLINGNESS TO END THE WAR
Vladimir Putin is preparing telephone talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre as early as Tuesday, Bloomberg reports. The discussions would concern a potential agreement to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The planned calls follow U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Putin last week, after meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Nordic leaders in Oslo. They would bring further direct European involvement into the diplomatic exchanges.
My concern is that Putin is still not ready to accept an agreement that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty. He may instead try to prolong negotiations through winter, using continued attacks on energy infrastructure and pressure on civilians to strengthen his bargaining position.
That is an assessment of the risk, rather than an established timetable. But it explains why diplomatic contact must be accompanied by sustained support for Ukraine. Negotiations cannot provide Moscow with months of additional pressure while Ukrainians wait for the weapons needed to protect their cities.
The terms matter, and so does Russia’s conduct while discussing them. Genuine progress must mean commitments that protect Ukraine—and actions showing that Moscow intends to honour them.