Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Tuesday urged fresh efforts to revive peace negotiations aimed at ending the war.
"We need to get new dynamics in our peace efforts, to speed them up, to find even new momentum, how to get this new energy in our peace efforts," he told reporters.
He said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had asked the leaders of Finland and Norway to convey to Russian President Vladimir Putin the necessity of a cease-fire and a Ukraine-Russia summit.
"We welcome such active support for our diplomatic efforts and peace process. This call was coordinated with us, and this is the right approach," Sybiha told reporters.
The leaders of Finland and Norway phoned Putin on Tuesday to urge him to end the war in Ukraine, breaking with a longstanding practice among Western European leaders of shunning direct contact with the Kremlin.
The call by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere was an attempt to influence the diplomatic process after U.S. President Donald Trump shifted his position in favor of Russia and U.S. ties with Ukraine hit their lowest point in 18 months.
Stoere said he and Stubb had spoken to Putin for about 90 minutes, and then to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
In a joint statement, they linked the initiative to planned peace discussions between Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi next month, their first since February.
Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on how to end the war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022, and long-range airstrikes by both sides have increased this year while battle lines have remained largely static.
"The discussion (with Putin) was frank and substantive. We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions," Stubb said.
Stoere said he and Stubb had "stressed the importance of de-escalation." Both voiced strong support for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Sybiha also said that the U.S.-mediated cease-fire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, where residents reported a food crisis, could be a confidence-building measure in a wider peace process.
"If we see results in Oleshky, this can pave the way for other steps in the peace process," he told reporters.
