Russia, Finland, and Norway welcome resumption of Ukraine negotiations in Abu Dhabi next November

Moscow -- The Russian presidential administration (the Kremlin) announced on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre welcomed the agreement to resume negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis with U.S. participation in Abu Dhabi in early November. The Kremlin said in a statement that the agreement came during a phone call among the three leaders, initiated at the request of the Finnish and Norwegian sides, during which they agreed to continue direct phone communications and discussed diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, as well as issues of security and stability in the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe. The statement added that Putin outlined the current situation in the Ukrainian conflict zone during the call, addressing what he described as the root causes of the crisis, and emphasized that achieving a lasting peace in Ukraine is contingent on fully respecting Russian interests. He clarified that the talks covered Putin’s meetings with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as meetings between the leaders of Finland and Norway with Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Kremlin noted that Putin informed Stubb and Støre about the launch of a humanitarian operation in the city of Aleshki and a temporary ceasefire along the Kherson axis. In a related development, the three leaders discussed security and stability in the Baltic Sea and Northern Europe, with Stubb and Støre stressing the importance of adhering to international maritime law and the principle of freedom of navigation. The statement quoted Putin as saying that the confrontational policy pursued by the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has contributed to prolonging the fighting in Ukraine. (End) d a n / s m a