Jonas Gahr Støre justifies trilateral call with Putin due to communication gap

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre publicly defended the legitimacy of his participation in a trilateral phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The politician emphasised that the key issue is that certain signals from the American side may not be reaching the Russian leader.

Objective of contact: conveying the European position

Støre’s remarks were made on a Norwegian television channel on Wednesday, 28 October. The head of government explained that the main objective of the dialogue, in which Finnish President Alexander Stubb also participated, was to ensure that Putin heard arguments from both the European and US sides.

«Ми (Стубб і я) зосередилися на майбутньому – на тому, що має статися, щоб ця війна не тривала нескінченно місяцями, а люди не гинули… і знайти рішення стає ще складніше» (We (Stubb and I) focused on the future – on what needs to happen so that this war does not last indefinitely for months, and people do not die… and finding a solution becomes even more difficult), the Norwegian Prime Minister stated.

Assessment of Moscow’s reaction

At the same time, Støre admitted that he does not believe Putin will change his mind. However, according to him, the Russian leader very clearly perceives the position of European partners.

«Але він дуже чітко чує нашу позицію. Я стурбований тим, що деякі з цих повідомлень не доходять до нього, коли з ним розмовляють американці» (But he hears our position very clearly. I am concerned that some of these messages do not reach him when Americans are talking to him), he added.

De-escalation measures and the issue of territories

During the interview, the Norwegian Prime Minister noted that his country sought to introduce de-escalation measures. Among such steps, he mentioned stopping strikes on energy infrastructure, halting attacks on ships exporting Ukrainian grain, and conducting prisoner exchanges.

Journalists also asked Støre whether peace could be achieved without Ukraine ceding its territories. The head of the Norwegian government replied that Ukraine would never sign an agreement that entails recognising the loss of land.

«Україна ніколи не підпише угоду, яка визнає, що вона втратила території, але чи зможе вона сприймати нинішню лінію фронту як реальність і як відправну точку – це вже інше питання. А головне питання полягає в тому, які гарантії безпеки можуть бути надані країні (Україні) після укладення мирної угоди? Путін визнає, що це головне питання» (Ukraine will never sign an agreement that recognises that it has lost territories, but whether it can accept the current front line as a reality and as a starting point – that is a different question. And the main question is what security guarantees can be provided to the country (Ukraine) after a peace deal is signed? Putin acknowledges that this is the main question), the politician concluded.