A political rift has appeared between Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and leaders in other Nordic countries.
This comes after the Finnish President and the Norwegian Prime Minister spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone on Tuesday morning.
Frederiksen went out following the conversation and told DR, “I actually don’t know what they think can be achieved by this.”
Trilateral call
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s offices released statements on Tuesday morning confirming they had taken the initiative to contact Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
In the Norwegian press release, it says that they “took the initiative for the conversation to discuss Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the diplomatic efforts to end the war, and to contribute to peace and stability in Europe.”
In the release, it also made clear that “Stubb and Støre took part in the conversation as leaders of their own countries, not as representatives of all of Europe.”
Støre has since told the press that the conversation between the three leaders lasted approximately 90 minutes.
Russia on the call
In a press release from the Russian President’s Office, it says that “the parties welcomed the agreement to resume trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States in Abu Dhabi in early to mid-November.”
The press release also confirmed the call was taken upon the Nordic leaders’ request and that “the three leaders agreed to maintain direct telephone contact in the future.”
“Grateful for the detailed briefing”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed on X that the two Nordic leaders spoke with him following their call with Putin.
Zelenskyy writes that “I am grateful for the detailed briefing and for their active support for our diplomacy and the peace efforts we are pursuing together with all our partners.”
He added, “We also discussed various formats for our engagement with partners in Europe that could be useful in further supporting diplomacy, our defence, and our shared security.”
“I have said that I disagree”
However, not everyone was as outwardly happy about this call.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told DR that “I am very sceptical of this Norwegian and Finnish unilateral initiative. It has not been coordinated with any of the rest of us.”
She went on to add that “I think we should keep Europe together instead of going solo.”
When asked whether she had conveyed this to her Nordic colleagues, who are all meeting in Helsinki currently for the Nordic Council, she said, “I have said that I disagree. I stand by what I believe, and by what Denmark believes.”
Norway and Finland stand their ground
Both Stubb and Støre have stood their ground on the call despite Frederiksen’s critique.
Stubb confirmed in a speech that all other Nordic leaders had been informed of the call before it took place, and Støre told DR that “It is not about splitting anyone. It is about safeguarding our interests.”
