“Tuesday’s call with President Alexander Stubb of Finland
and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was the first time Russia’s leader
had spoken to any of Ukraine’s European allies since July last year when he
held a call with French President Emmanuel Macron,” the FT wrote.
According to Stubb, who spoke to Finnish media, the
conversation was initially expected to last less than 30 minutes but continued
for about 90 minutes.
“But instead of discussing crucial issues about how to end
the war, Putin subjected the Nordic leaders to a lengthy rant about what the
Kremlin called the ‘initial reasons for the conflict,” the report said.
The prospect of an immediate cease-fire was barely discussed
by Putin, the sources told the newspaper.
Stubb and Støre chose not to interrupt Putin’s historical
“lecture” in order to assess how seriously he was prepared to engage in
dialogue with Europe, one source said.
The call was also the first between Putin and European
leaders since the summer of 2026, when the European Union began discussing the
appointment of a representative for direct negotiations with Moscow on ending
Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to FT, Putin’s historical “fixations” have been
one of the main forces behind the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“In August last year, he went off on a similarly lengthy
tangent about medieval Slavic rulers during a failed summit with US President
Donald Trump [in Alaska],” the newspaper wrote.
On Oct. 22, Putin referred in a public address to
“the latest genetic research.” According to Putin, the research showed that “it’s
one people, Russians and Ukrainians.”