Two Nordic leaders urge Putin to end Ukraine war in rare direct contact by Europeans

Reuters reports that Stoere said he and Stubb had spoken to Putin for about 90 minutes, and then to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.[1] Reuters also says that in a joint statement, they linked the initiative to planned peace discussions between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials in Abu Dhabi next month[1].Finnish President Alexander Stubb said, according to ABC News, that "the outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions."[3]According to Reuters, the Kremlin's readout of the call did not suggest any softening of Putin's position.[1] Reuters reports that the Kremlin said peace was possible only if Russia's "legitimate interests"[1] were "fully and unconditionally taken into account"[1].Reuters cites a source close to the Kremlin[1] who said Putin told the two leaders that the war needed to end "taking into account the realities on the ground"[1]. The source said this signified that Russia would not compromise over its aim to capture the whole of Ukraine's Donbas region.[1]Reuters reports that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the call had been coordinated with Kyiv and was "the right approach".[1]Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told broadcaster DR, according to NBC News, "I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo."[4] Euronews reports that Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, "I have pretty low expectations for this kind of (direct) talk."[2]RTÉ reports that Støre rejected the criticism and said, "it cannot be that only the US administration has a channel to talk to the Russian leadership."[5]