Finland's Stubb and Norway's Støre speak with Putin; Zelenskyy says a U.S.-Russia-Ukraine team meeting is planned for November

As of 6:12 p.m. ET, Oct. 27, 2026

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, then briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said he and the two leaders discussed preparations for a Ukrainian-American-Russian meeting "at the level of teams" planned for November.

Stubb and Støre initiated the call and made it from Helsinki, Finland's presidential office said in a release issued at 5:30 a.m. ET. The release said the call followed a meeting in Oslo on Oct. 20, was held in consultation with Ukraine, and was meant "to convey messages directly regarding future negotiations to help to end the war to President Putin." It said the call "was related to the upcoming meetings to be held in Abu Dhabi." Norway's government issued a matching statement.

The two leaders spoke for their own countries, not for Europe as a whole, and stressed that Finland and Norway will keep supporting Ukraine and that the war must end and negotiations resume, the release said. "The discussion was frank and substantive," Stubb said. "Ending the war requires direct discussions." Støre said, "In the call we stressed the importance of de-escalation."

Zelenskyy: de-escalation on energy

Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel at 6:46 a.m. ET that he spoke with Stubb and Støre after their call. "Alex and Jonas clearly told the Russian leader that real de-escalation steps are needed regarding our energy and infrastructure," he wrote, translated from Ukrainian. "We discussed the preparation of the trilateral meeting planned for November at the level of teams: Ukrainian, American, Russian."

Zelenskyy did not give a date or a location for the meeting. "There must be peace, de-escalation is needed, and Russia's dragging out of the war must stop," he wrote.

What the Kremlin says

The Kremlin said in its readout that the call took place at the request of the Finnish and Norwegian sides. According to the Kremlin, the three leaders "welcomed the agreement reached" to resume three-way talks among Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November, aimed in part at security for Russia and Ukraine after the full end of fighting. Finland's release refers to upcoming meetings in Abu Dhabi, and Zelenskyy said a meeting is planned for November, but neither gave a date or described the agenda.

The Kremlin said Putin told the two leaders that a just, lasting peace is possible only with "full and unconditional" consideration of Russia's "legitimate interests," and criticized what it called the confrontational policies of European Union and NATO countries. It said the leaders also discussed security in the Baltic Sea region and northern Europe, and that Putin told them about the start of a U.S.-mediated humanitarian operation around the occupied town of Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region. The Kremlin said the three agreed to keep in direct contact by phone.

What is not known

No exact date has been announced for the November talks, and the United States has not publicly confirmed the meeting or its timing in the sources reviewed for this report. Kyiv has not named a venue. It is not known what specific messages Stubb and Støre passed to Putin or whether Russia agreed to any de-escalation steps on Ukraine's energy and infrastructure.