Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that he mediated between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin after Turkey shot down a Russian jet on Nov. 24.

During an interview on a radio station on Saturday, Niinistö said that he had "mediated messages" between the Turkish and Russian leaders.

He said, "I don't want to promote myself as a peacemaker, but I think a country this size has a role to play in building relations between the East and West. It just so happened that I had separate meetings with President Erdogan and President Putin and each had a message for the other."

The Finnish president also stressed the potential role of the EU as a peace mediator, saying he hopes the union's significance in international relations will grow.

Previously, Azerbaijan offered itself as a "peace broker" between the two countries.