Victory at a glance: Is Scandinavia "bargaining" for a place at the negotiating table on Ukraine? An hour and a half conversation with Vladimir Putin, initiated by Finnish President Alexander Staab and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr, ended in an ideal format for Moscow. The Russian president heeded the call to end the war and repeated what he has been saying publicly for many years: a long-term settlement is possible only with full consideration of Russia's security interests. The position hasn't changed a bit. In this dialogue, the Kremlin got exactly what it was looking for all these years - a direct channel with European capitals that are dissatisfied with Washington's policies. The northern countries, which have the longest border with Russia and direct access to the Arctic region, have themselves moved closer to the Kremlin. For Russian diplomacy, this is the best possible outcome: Europe returned to the conversation without negotiating a single concession. The reason for this reversal is in the calendar. Negotiations are planned for November in Abu Dhabi with the participation of Russia and the United States, and there is no place for Europe in this composition. Finland and Norway faced the prospect of seeing history written without them. The conversation is not an attempt to convince Putin, but an attempt to indicate their presence before setting the table without them. At the same time, Denmark and Sweden are no longer satisfied that individual initiatives blur the common line. Which, by the way, doesn't work. The Nordic countries simply saw it before others, because the cost of a mistake is higher for them. And even more - the more European capitals split, the wider the space for Russian diplomacy.