UK Prime Minister and Finland’s Stubb agree Ukraine peace work must continue at pace, press Russia to engage

LONDON – The UK Prime Minister spoke by phone with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb on the afternoon of 8 November, according to a readout published by the Prime Minister’s Office on GOV.UK. The two leaders discussed the Ukraine peace effort, European security and the future of the UK-EU relationship.

Ukraine and the Brussels talks

The readout says the leaders began with the latest on Ukraine, including the Brussels peace talks held last week. They agreed that work towards a just and lasting peace should be prioritised and continued at pace, before moving to a wider discussion of European security.

The Prime Minister, the readout says, added that Putin had consistently failed to show he was serious about negotiations. That, in the UK account, underlined the importance of Ukraine’s partners piling on further pressure on Russia to force the Kremlin to engage seriously. This is the British government’s characterisation of the Russian position, not a finding by an independent body.

UK-EU relationship

Finally, the two leaders discussed the future of the UK-EU relationship. Ahead of a summit later this month, the Prime Minister said he was focused on a deal that delivered for all parties and ensured a modern relationship that could be built on. The readout does not give details of the contents of any such deal.

The call closed with both sides saying they looked forward to speaking again soon.

Related coverage

European positions on the next round of Ukraine diplomacy have been set out in recent days. See Barrot: “France will be in Abu Dhabi” – Europe to have a seat in the Ukraine talks and Kallas in Warsaw: the EU will not implement any Ukraine deal it is not party to, ahead of the Abu Dhabi talks.