Putin Spends 90 Minutes on History in Call With Finnish and Norwegian Leaders

Russian President Vladimir Putin used most of a recent phone call with Finland's president and Norway's prime minister to talk about the background of the conflict with Ukraine, rather than ways to end it, the Financial Times reported. The call took place on 27 October.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Finnish media that the conversation, which had been expected to last less than 30 minutes, stretched to 90 minutes. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre also took part.

Three sources familiar with the discussion told the FT that Putin gave the two leaders a long monologue on what the Kremlin calls the "initial reasons for the conflict." The newspaper described it as a lecture on medieval Slavic history, and said it highlighted the difficulties Europe faces in making its voice heard in coming peace talks with Russia.

An immediate ceasefire, which is Ukraine's main demand for starting a peace process, was barely touched on, according to the sources. One of them said the Nordic leaders chose not to interrupt Putin during his historical asides, so they could judge how seriously he was approaching dialogue with Europe.

The call was the first contact between the Russian leader and any of Ukraine's European allies since July 2025, when Putin spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Finnish and Norwegian leaders had discussed steps to de-escalate the war, in particular concerning Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The Kremlin's own account said Putin had, among other things, reminded Stubb and Støre of the "root causes" of the war against Ukraine.

Reactions in Europe were mixed. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later said she was highly sceptical about the outcome of the call, which she said had not been coordinated with other European countries. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, however, confirmed that the call had been coordinated with the Ukrainian side.

The long historical account was not without precedent. During his 2025 meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, Putin delivered another extended speech on the history of Ukraine. Trump was reportedly displeased, grew angry and even threatened to walk out.