Nordic diplomacy in the spotlight
Zelensky defended Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb following their October 27 call with Vladimir Putin. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized the move to TV2 and said she was "skeptical" and that leaders should not give Putin an opportunity he did not have until a few hours prior. Zelensky pushed back against Frederiksen and argued that Donald Trump’s August 2025 meeting with Putin in Alaska "ended Russia’s diplomatic isolation" for a large part of the world. He also noted that unspecified European governments, intelligence services, and various countries in the Middle East maintain contact with Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated the two Nordic leaders coordinated their call with Ukraine in advance. Zelensky praised the Norwegian and Finnish leaders for their transparent objectives and for providing a full briefing through discussions in advance. However, the Financial Times reported that Putin gave the two leaders a monologue regarding his interpretations of Slavic history. A senior EU official told the Kyiv Independent that a round of talks based in Europe will occur before the expected Ukraine-Russia-U.S. peace talks in Abu Dhabi this November.
Putin seeks Azerbaijani cooperation
Putin called Azerbaijan a "stable and good partner" for Russia while speaking at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow. He told the forum that Russia sees opportunities to work with Azerbaijan in the energy and gas sectors instead of competing for the Turkish market. Russia supplies up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas to Turkey, which is significantly more than the amount Azerbaijan provides. Even so, Putin says he remains in active dialogue with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to expand energy cooperation. I find his claim of partnership completely hollow because of the 2024 downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines jet by Russia and the 2025 deaths of Azerbaijani citizens in Russian police custody. While relations with Armenia continue to deteriorate, Putin emphasized that Moscow and Baku see good prospects for working together on energy. Although both nations said in April 2026 that they settled issues related to the plane crash, disagreements over anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric in Russian media persist.
