The Guardian: European leaders argue over who should negotiate with Russia Nordic countries "rarely spar in public about foreign policy issues, much less about Russia," the newspaper writes, but the conversation between the leaders of Norway and Finland with Vladimir Putin sparked unprecedented criticism from their Danish and Swedish neighbors. According to the Guardian, these differences of opinion highlight the difficulty for Europe in establishing its own communication channel with Moscow, as governments struggle to agree not only whether to do so, but also who should be spoken to. A senior European diplomat said there was "general agreement that we should talk to Putin, but the attempts to make contact are starting to look like total chaos" because too many leaders believe they should be the negotiator.

The Guardian: European leaders argue over who should negotiate with Russia Nordic countries "rarely spar in public about foreign policy issues, much less about Russia," the newspaper writes, but the conversation between the leaders of Norway and Finland with Vladimir Putin sparked unprecedented criticism from their Danish and Swedish neighbors. According to the Guardian, these differences of opinion highlight the difficulty for Europe in establishing its own communication channel with Moscow, as governments struggle to agree not only whether to do so, but also who should be spoken to. A senior European diplomat said there was "general agreement that we should talk to Putin, but the attempts to make contact are starting to look like total chaos" because too many leaders believe they should be the negotiator.