News 258K views since yesterday

Frederiksen warns against "going solo" after Nordic leaders call Putin

DW News pairs Finland's defense of the call with Denmark's objection and a view from Moscow, where the Kremlin signaled that phone contact could continue.

Channel:

DW News Story of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of DW News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 257,638 views.

Finland and Norway open direct talks with Putin despite criticism | DW News

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00The anchor reports that Finland's and Norway's leaders broke longstanding practice by phoning Putin to urge an end to the war.
0:32Denmark's Mette Frederiksen calls herself very skeptical of the move and urges Europe to stay united.
1:04Alexander Stubb calls the conversation professional and direct and says Nordic allies and Zelensky were briefed.
2:25Juri Rescheto says Putin restated his narrative and kept Ukrainian NATO membership as a red line.
3:19Despite its hardline statements, the Kremlin indicated that direct phone conversations should continue.
6:00Rescheto concludes that current diplomacy is aimed at managing the conflict, not ending it.

The leaders of Finland and Norway have spoken directly with Vladimir Putin, and in DW News' report the sharpest objection comes from a close neighbor. "I'm very skeptical about this initiative taken by Norway and Finland on their own," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen tells reporters. "I think we should keep Europe united, rather than going solo."

The report, DW's most watched new video since yesterday at roughly 260,000 views, describes the call by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre as a break with longstanding practice among Western leaders. Both are experienced hands. Stubb was Finland's prime minister before he became president, and Støre spent seven years as Norway's foreign minister.

Stubb defends the call from a podium. "The discussion with President Putin was professional and direct," he says, adding that Nordic allies and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had been briefed. An on-screen quote sets out his reasoning: the war's outcome bears directly on European security, and ending it requires direct discussions.

DW's Riga bureau chief, Juri Rescheto, then gives Moscow's side. He reports that the Kremlin confirmed the Nordic leaders initiated the call and that Putin repeated his familiar account of the conflict. "Ukrainian membership in NATO remains a complete red line for Moscow," Rescheto says. Despite that hard line, the Kremlin also indicated that direct telephone conversations should continue.

The anchor and Rescheto then ask whether the outreach could create friction among EU allies or serve a Kremlin aim of splitting Europe. Rescheto also looks at the wider diplomatic picture, including talk of trilateral formats and upcoming meetings. His conclusion is cautious: "Right now, the focus is on managing the conflict, not ending it."

The report has drawn about five times as many comments as a usual DW video gets in its first day, and it has not yet been online for a full day. Many commenters point out that Finland and Norway both border Russia while Denmark does not. Others say Zelensky backed the approach, and a recurring correction insists that Finland is Nordic rather than Scandinavian.

Published on Trari