Key facts
- Støre said Abu Dhabi is a stepping stone and should produce a follow-up soon after.
- Støre said the Abu Dhabi agenda could include a Black Sea ceasefire for grain shipments and a ceasefire on energy infrastructure.
- Støre said he would describe the October 27 call with Putin as professional and rational.
- Støre said Putin did not lecture the Nordic leaders on Slavic history during the call.
- Støre said European security architecture must be dealt with after the war ends.
- Støre said he has looked to Germany, France and the UK to speak for Europe.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he does not expect talks in Abu Dhabi to deliver a breakthrough on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, and questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wants peace, in an interview with POLITICO published on November 9.
Negotiating teams from Moscow and Kyiv are due to meet with the United States in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, the first three-way meeting since February. Støre said the agenda could include a ceasefire for the Black Sea to allow grain shipments, a ceasefire on energy infrastructure, a front-line freeze and confidence-building measures such as prisoner swaps. "Abu Dhabi is a stepping stone, and one output of it should be a follow-up quite soon after," he said.
Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb held a 90-minute call with Putin on October 27, a rare direct outreach from pro-Ukraine leaders. Støre described the conversation as professional and rational, and said Putin did not lecture the two leaders on Slavic history, correcting reports that suggested otherwise. "If he had wanted peace, there would have been no war at the outset," Støre said, while adding that Putin picking up the phone suggested a readiness to sit down.
Støre defended the call against criticism from some Nordic neighbors. "The only voice reaching Moscow comes from Washington," he said, arguing that European voices should also reach Putin.
Ahead of an informal summit in Dublin, Støre said Europe needs to decide its core collective messages and appoint someone to deliver them to Trump and Putin. He said he had looked to Germany, France and the UK to play that role.