Stubb announces Ukraine, Russia and US talks with European participation in the next two weeks

Finnish President Alexander Stubb has said that talks involving Ukraine, Russia, the United States and Europe could take place in the next one to two weeks.

He stated this on CNN.

According to Stubb, the final decision on holding such talks rests with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It is quite likely that Europeans will sit down at the negotiating table, and this fact in itself will already be progress. If we add to this a possible new meeting involving Americans, Ukrainians, Russians and Europeans, which could take place in the next one to two weeks at a technical level, that will also be a step forward. However, we need to wait, you know, the final decision is up to Putin. As for the Ukrainian side, the decision will be made by Zelensky. And the Americans will hold talks with both sides within the next 24 hours,” Stubb said.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry negatively assessed the involvement of Europeans in peace talks. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, there is a “very serious gap” in the approaches of the US and Europe, and “involving Europeans in talks on Ukraine could mean the disruption of useful efforts.”

Earlier, the Finnish president said that Putin, during a telephone conversation on October 27, which also involved Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, was “very insightful, very analytical, very well prepared and conducted the conversation very calmly.”