During a conversation with the leaders of Finland and Norway, Putin lectured on Slavic history and did not at all discuss the prospect of an immediate ceasefire, the FT reports, citing sources. As the President of Finland Alexander Stubb said, the conversation was supposed to last less than 30 minutes but lasted 90 minutes. According to the journalists' sources, Putin did not want to discuss the main issues of ending the war in Ukraine; Instead, he gave a long speech about "the root causes of the war." "The European leaders decided not to disturb him in order to check how seriously he takes the dialogue with Europe. Staab and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr spoke with Putin on October 27. Before the talk, they consulted with Kyiv and were supposed to convey Ukraine's position towards a possible tripartite negotiation in Abu Dhabi.

During a conversation with the leaders of Finland and Norway, Putin lectured on Slavic history and did not at all discuss the prospect of an immediate ceasefire, the FT reports, citing sources. As the President of Finland Alexander Stubb said, the conversation was supposed to last less than 30 minutes but lasted 90 minutes. According to the journalists' sources, Putin did not want to discuss the main issues of ending the war in Ukraine; Instead, he gave a long speech about "the root causes of the war." "The European leaders decided not to disturb him in order to check how seriously he takes the dialogue with Europe. Staab and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr spoke with Putin on October 27. Before the talk, they consulted with Kyiv and were supposed to convey Ukraine's position towards a possible tripartite negotiation in Abu Dhabi.