Pavel discusses Putin call with Finland’s Stubb as Europe weighs talks

Czech President Petr Pavel spoke with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Wednesday following the Finnish leader’s direct telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The presidents discussed Tuesday’s call, which also involved Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe, and prospects for establishing a common European position on potential peace negotiations.

According to the Czech presidential office, Pavel and Stubb agreed that discussions should continue in different formats with all relevant parties involved. Any peace settlement must deliver credible security guarantees for both Ukraine and Europe, the office said.

Stubb and Störe spoke with Putin on Tuesday about possible ways to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. They subsequently briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the conversation.

Bloomberg described the call as Putin’s first direct contact with senior European leaders supporting Kyiv since French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with him in July last year.

The initiative nevertheless exposed differences among European governments over how to approach Moscow.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed “great skepticism” about the call in an interview with broadcaster DR. She said the Finnish and Norwegian leaders had not consulted other partners about their initiative.

The Finnish president’s office said Tuesday that Stubb and Störe had acted as representatives of their own countries, rather than on behalf of Europe as a whole.

That distinction leaves the wider question of European representation in any negotiations unresolved—a subject Pavel and Stubb addressed in Wednesday’s discussion.

Last week, The Telegraph reported that Pavel, Stubb and Störe were among five European leaders being considered for a leading role in negotiations with Putin.

The other names cited were Frederiksen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The report described possible candidates, rather than an agreed negotiating team or formal appointment.

Pavel’s conversation with Stubb comes as Ukraine continues to resist Russia’s full-scale invasion for a fifth year. Russia has intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks while diplomatic efforts to end the war continue.

Wednesday’s Czech statement emphasized the outcome any negotiations would need to achieve: credible security guarantees extending beyond an immediate halt to fighting.

It also stressed continued involvement by all relevant parties, without announcing a new negotiating format or identifying anyone authorized to speak for Europe collectively.

The contrasting responses to Tuesday’s call underline the challenge facing European governments: maintaining contact over a possible settlement while agreeing who should conduct those discussions and on whose authority.