Europe should talk directly with Russia": President of Finland Staab called Putin insightful and completely calm.
"Finnish President Alexander Staab defended his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "If we want to participate in the negotiations, we cannot remain silent and press the mute button. We have to talk directly to the Russians," Staub said. According to him, it is also important to build a relationship of trust with the Russian side.
He described the phone conversation with Putin, which Stob had at the end of October together with the Prime Minister of Norway, as "a good and honest conversation." According to the Finnish president, Putin was "very insightful, very analytical, well prepared and completely calm during the conversation." Staub also noted that the Russian leader knows how to listen.
"The most important thing is not to transfer responsibility for European security to the United States," Staub stressed. According to him, Europe should think about whether the American foreign policy towards Russia and Ukraine meets the interests of European countries. If not, the continent itself must engage in the negotiation process."