{
  "id": 19077739,
  "title": "The Kremlin call: How talking to Putin exposed Europe’s deepest rift over Ukraine",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/the-kremlin-call-how-talking-to-putin-exposed-europes-deepest-rift",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-09T03:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Politico EU",
    "slug": "politico-eu",
    "url": "https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-europe-rift-russia-ukraine-war/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In this report, two European leaders, Alexander Stubb of Finland and Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway, found themselves at the center of a significant diplomatic controversy after reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The leaders met in Helsinki, Finland, to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, hoping to demonstrate European resolve against Russian aggression. However, their decision to call Putin triggered a major rift among Nordic allies, exposing deep divisions over Europe's approach to dealing with Moscow. The phone call came at a crucial time, as negotiations between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff were underway in Oslo, aiming to repair relations between Ukraine and the West. The European leaders believed that engaging with Putin directly could help revive momentum in the peace process, especially as the U.S. appeared hesitant to defend Europe and Ukraine's interests. However, many other European countries, particularly those bordering Russia, strongly disagreed with the idea of Europe taking a mediator's role. They argued that Europe should not seek to please the Russian dictator and that the U.S. should own the objectives in the Ukraine peace process. The incident highlighted Europe's broader divisions and its struggle to find a unified approach to engaging with Russia, particularly in the context of the Trump administration's intervention in the peace process.",
  "summary": "The leaders of Finland and Norway were slammed for reaching out to Russia — but Europe still can’t find a better way to influence Donald Trump’s peace talks.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}