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Finland

1. Follow-up: Finland's Stubb and Norway's Store hold rare call with Putin on Ukraine peace, report wide differences

   Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held a joint call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Oct 27, on efforts to end the war in Ukraine, a rare direct contact between European leaders and Putin. Stubb described the call as 'frank and substantive', while Store said there were 'major differences in views'. The two said they spoke as Russia's neighbours, not on behalf of Europe as a whole. Stubb said the idea came from talks in Oslo on Oct 20 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Steve Witkoff and was coordinated beforehand with Ukraine and the United States; Ukraine's foreign minister confirmed the coordination and said Kyiv is ready to accept a partial or full ceasefire.

   Oct 28, 2026 Morning
2. Finland plans €100 million purchase of one million anti-personnel landmines

   Finland's national news agency STT and AFP reported Finland plans to spend €100 million (about $112 million) on one million anti-personnel mines. Finland left the Ottawa Convention banning such mines last year, as did Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, citing a potential threat from Russia. Colonel Riku Mikkonen of the Army Command said officials are gathering information from suppliers and would prefer domestic production, with a contract by end-2027 and production from 2028; about six Finnish companies qualify.

   Oct 20, 2026 Morning