Finnish President Alexander Staab shared new details about his phone call with Vladimir Putin earlier this week in an interview with Yle, Staab described the conversation with the Russian president as useful and acknowledged that the two sides were able to have a normal and substantive discussion. According to him, the conversation took place at the request of Ukraine and was coordinated with the American side. "We are neighbors of Russia, and at some point it was necessary to restore contacts." Staub also disputed a Financial Times report that claimed Vladimir Putin spent most of the phone call lecturing on history. "That's not true. This is false information." "Without going into the details of the conversation, I will say that it was an opportunity for both sides to exchange information. In his opening remarks, President Putin detailed his view of events since 2014, which included many familiar talking points. We were able to conduct what I would call a normal, and very business-like conversation."

Finnish President Alexander Staab shared new details about his phone call with Vladimir Putin earlier this week in an interview with Yle, Staab described the conversation with the Russian president as useful and acknowledged that the two sides were able to have a normal and substantive discussion. According to him, the conversation took place at the request of Ukraine and was coordinated with the American side. "We are neighbors of Russia, and at some point it was necessary to restore contacts." Staub also disputed a Financial Times report that claimed Vladimir Putin spent most of the phone call lecturing on history. "That's not true. This is false information." "Without going into the details of the conversation, I will say that it was an opportunity for both sides to exchange information. In his opening remarks, President Putin detailed his view of events since 2014, which included many familiar talking points. We were able to conduct what I would call a normal, and very business-like conversation."