Norway's PM Pushes Back on Financial Times Account of Putin Call
Støre says he and the Russian leader spoke for equal amounts of time, while the newspaper stands by its reporting.
By Hugo Konate ·
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre rejected a report claiming Vladimir Putin dominated a recent phone call. Støre told TV 2 that the two leaders spoke for roughly equal amounts of time. The statement came in response to an article published by the Financial Times.
The dispute centers on a three-way phone call held on October 27. Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Putin participated in the discussion. The stated goal was to find ways to de-escalate the conflict and create a European channel for dialogue.
The Financial Times reported that Putin used almost the entire duration of the call to explain the historical reasons for the war. The article described the Russian leader as providing a lengthy account of the conflict's origins. Støre called this description inaccurate.
"That is not true. And we asked the Financial Times to correct this information, as it does not correspond to reality," Støre said. He noted that Putin did review history from 2014 to the present day. However, Støre argued that this context does not match the newspaper's characterization of a lecture on Slavic history.
Støre addressed the issue of time allocation directly. He stated that the conversation lasted one and a half hours. Because an interpreter was present, some time was spent on translation. Støre believes the speaking time was distributed fairly evenly. He added that the European leaders also set out their positions and requested feedback from the Russian side.
The Financial Times contacted by Norwegian newspaper VG. A spokesperson for the paper said the outlet stands by its journalism. The paper refused to make changes to the original report. It also declined to comment further or clarify its sources. The European Commission's chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, confirmed the commission was informed about the call in advance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 28 that there are indications Russia is serious about a meeting in Abu Dhabi. He noted that a planned trilateral meeting of technical teams from Ukraine, Russia, and the US in early November depends on the American side.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
