Finland: Europe must overcome the psychological barrier and open channels of dialogue with Russia

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Finnish President Alexander Stubb announced that the European Union countries have entrusted the United States with the task of communicating the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, but at some point they will have to stop “pressing the mute button” regarding establishing a dialogue with Russia.

Stubb said in an interview with the Luxembourgish channel RTL: “We have handed over communication channels to the United States, and this is not a bad thing in itself. We work under the American “negotiating umbrella,” and I am in contact with the American negotiators weekly, and with the Ukrainians on an almost daily basis.”

The Finnish President added: "I truly believe that we in Europe must at some point overcome a certain psychological barrier and realize that pressing the mute button does not work, and that the essence of diplomacy lies in conducting dialogue and, ultimately, in reaching a compromise."

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov announced that Stobbe spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.

On October 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced, during the plenary session of the 23rd meeting of the Valdai International Dialogue Club, that European Union countries should not set any preconditions if they wish to resume dialogue with Russia.