Zelensky backs Norway-Finland talks with Putin, says Trump already ended Russia's isolation
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President Volodymr Zelensky defended Norway and Finland on Oct. 27 over a call they made to Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier that day, which was lambasted by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
"I have a positive view of these leaders and these countries — we are grateful to them... I understand their communication format," Zelensky said of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, following their call with Putin.
The day before, Frederiksen turned on her Nordic neighbors, telling Danish TV channel TV2 that she was "skeptical" of the phone call, and criticizing them for not coordinating with other European countries.
"One should be careful about giving Putin an opportunity that he did not have until a few hours ago," Frederiksen said.
However, Zelensky pushed back against the latter assertion, telling journalists that U.S. President Donald Trump's August 2025 meeting with Putin in Alaska had already "ended Russia's diplomatic isolation."
"That is a fact: the Russians had been diplomatically isolated by a large part of the world, and Alaska ended that isolation," Zelensky repeated.
He also mentioned that unspecified European governments have had their own contacts with Russia since then, but not always as openly as the latest move by Oslo and Helsinki.
Zelensky mentioned ongoing contacts between European and Russian intelligence services and national security advisers, and that other countries in the Middle East have also been in contact.
The president praised Norway and Finland for putting their diplomacy "completely out in the open: discussions in advance, a full briefing, and transparent objectives," saying that not all countries had taken the time to speak with Ukraine beforehand.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also wrote on social media that the two Nordic leaders had coordinated their call with Ukraine in advance.
Whether the phone call achieved anything is, however, a different question, with reporting by the Financial Times suggesting that Putin subjected the two leaders to a monologue laying out his interpretations of Slavic history.
Ahead of the expected Ukraine-Russia-U.S. peace talks in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi in November, a senior EU official told the Kyiv Independent that there will first be a round of talks based in Europe.
