Norway’s prime minister has said he saw no sign that Vladimir Putin genuinely wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine, after speaking to the Russian president directly for the first time in years. Jonas Gahr Støre told Politico he had seen no sign “so far” that Mr Putin was open to an agreement, despite the Russian leader’s willingness to take the call.
Mr Støre and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb held a 90-minute phone call with Mr Putin on 27 October, a conversation the two leaders had been considering for months. Mr Støre described the exchange as professional and rational, and said Mr Putin’s readiness to pick up the phone suggested he was prepared to sit down and talk. But he cautioned against expecting too much from the next round of negotiations.
The call has exposed one of the deepest rifts among European allies since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, complained the call had not been “coordinated with the rest of us”, while Sweden’s Ulf Kristersson dismissed it as “not words that bite”. Estonia’s Kristen Michal said Europe should not position itself as a mediator or try to placate what he called a dictator. Mr Støre defended the move, arguing that leaving Washington as the only Western voice reaching Moscow was an illusion. “The only voice reaching Moscow comes from Washington,” he said.
Mr Støre also distanced himself from the US envoy Steve Witkoff’s description of Mr Putin as a “humanitarian”, saying: “It would not have been part of my vocabulary.” He added that Europe’s security arrangements must not become a bargaining chip in any settlement, and that talks on the wider European security order should wait until after the war ends. He noted Russia had revived its late-2021 proposals about where NATO could have a presence, and said Moscow had no authority to decide that.
The warning comes a day before Russian and Ukrainian negotiators meet US officials in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, the first three-way talks since February. Mr Støre said the agenda could include a Black Sea ceasefire to protect grain shipments, a halt to strikes on energy infrastructure, a freeze along the front line, prisoner exchanges and security guarantees for Ukraine. He urged caution about what the meeting could achieve, said it should be followed quickly by another, and warned Moscow would pay a price if it sent a delegation and the talks produced nothing. Donald Trump has predicted a deal is close after nearly five years of full-scale war. European leaders are due to discuss who should represent Europe in the negotiations at an informal summit in Dublin later this week.
Sources: Politico, interview with Jonas Gahr Støre, 9 November 2026; Clash Report, “Norway’s Støre Sees No Sign Putin Is Ready For A Deal After Direct Call”, 9 November 2026 — https://clashreport.com/world/articles/no-sign-putin-is-ready-for-a-deal-norway-s-st-re-after-direct-talks-pez9oxz0h2f
