Denmark has criticized Finland and Norway for initiating direct communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a move that has exposed deepening divisions among Ukraine’s European allies. Swedish officials also expressed frustration after learning of the calls to Moscow.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store contacted Putin on Tuesday ahead of renewed Russia-US-Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi next month. The leaders discussed efforts to resolve the conflict, as well as security and stability across Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea.
Most Western European nations have avoided direct engagement with Moscow since 2022, but both Stubb and Store have been considered potential representatives for Brussels at the upcoming negotiations. Neither spoke on behalf of the European Union during their Tuesday call.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen accused her Nordic colleagues of acting unilaterally, stating she was “very skeptical about this Norwegian-Finnish initiative” because it had “not been coordinated with the rest of us.” She emphasized that Europe must remain united and warned unilateral contacts with Moscow would likely achieve nothing.
Frederiksen’s criticism comes as Denmark supports Kiev’s efforts to expand military production within its borders, with Ukrainian arms manufacturer Fire Point planning a missile-fuel factory in the country.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also lamented not being informed of the calls to Putin beforehand and expressed “pretty low expectations” for any progress from such discussions.
Western leaders have faced backlash for contacting Moscow or advocating direct talks. Earlier this year, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever drew criticism after suggesting Europe’s strategy of arming Ukraine and sanctioning Russia had failed, leaving negotiations as the only viable path to resolution. EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas countered that normalizing ties with Moscow would lead to “more wars,” while De Wever’s foreign minister described his remarks as a “signal of weakness.”
In 2024, former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was accused of opening a “Pandora’s box” by calling Putin, an action condemned by Estonia and other Baltic states as a “strategic mistake.”
Russian officials have repeatedly accused European governments of prolonging the conflict and obstructing peace while demanding negotiation roles. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in March that the EU had “completely discredited itself” as a mediator due to its failure to uphold agreements and support for Western military operations in Ukraine.
Moscow has nevertheless signaled openness to engaging with a European representative committed to peace, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noting such a negotiator would need to be “someone genuinely committed to facilitating a peaceful settlement.”