Some European countries reacted negatively to the initiative of Finnish President Alexander Staab and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Sores to hold a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin, Politico reported. An unnamed official said individual countries holding talks with Russia were undermining Europe's united voice, while an Italian official said national initiatives could further weaken Europe's influence and exposed the EU's inability to agree on who would represent it in peace talks. The European Commission reacted cautiously, noting that the call was "exclusively in a bilateral format. ".