Instead of discussing the peace plan, Putin gave the leaders of Finland and Norway a historical lecture on the "roots of the conflict" in Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his first telephone conversation with European leaders in a year, not only confirmed his demand for the complete surrender of the Donbass to Russia, but also gave another historical lecture on the medieval Slavs. The "Financial Times" reports this, citing three sources familiar with the content of the conversation. During an hour and a half conversation with the President of Finland Alexander Staab and the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Stora, Putin, instead of discussing the most important issues regarding the ways of a peace settlement in Ukraine, launched a prolonged storm on the representatives of the two northern countries about the so-called "root causes of the conflict". According to sources, Stubbs and Wester decided not to interrupt Putin's historic monologue in order to assess his readiness for a serious dialogue with Europe. More details.