The leaders of Finland and Norway have been secretly preparing for months for a talk with Putin, -. Politico.
Finnish President Alexander Staab and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr considered it unacceptable that the direct dialogue with Moscow be conducted exclusively by US representatives ahead of the tripartite talks in Abu Dhabi.
As Politico points out, the relationship with the Russian leader drew criticism from a number of European politicians and diplomats, who saw the actions of Helsinki and Oslo as inconsistent with their allies.