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 has entrusted the task of communicating regarding the resolution of the crisis in Ukraine to the United States, but it will eventually have to stop "pressing the mute button" concerning dialogue with Russia.

Stubb said in an interview with Luxembourg's RTL channel: "We have handed over communication channels to the United States, and this is not a bad thing in itself, as we are working under the American 'negotiation umbrella', and I am in contact with American negotiators weekly, and with Ukrainians almost daily."

The Finnish president added: "I truly believe that we in Europe need to overcome a certain psychological barrier at some point, and realize that pressing the mute button is ineffective, and that the essence of diplomacy lies in conducting dialogue, and ultimately reaching a compromise."

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

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