MOSCOW, November 9 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere hoped their conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin would demonstrate the resolve of European countries, but instead exposed deep divisions within Europe, Politico reported on Monday.

Putin held a telephone conversation with the Finnish president and the Norwegian prime minister on October 27. The call was initiated by Helsinki and Oslo. The consequences of that conversation are still being felt across Europe as European governments argue over who should represent Europe in future negotiations with Russia on Ukraine, to which they have never been invited.

For several months, the Finnish president and the Norwegian prime minister had privately explored the idea of calling the Kremlin together, agreeing that it was crucial to give the process a new impetus before the resumption of talks in Abu Dhabi, Politico reported.

According to Politico's sources, this is due to the fact that European countries no longer trust Washington to protect the interests of Europe and Ukraine.

It is important that [US President] Donald Trump is not the only leader from the West who talks to Putin, a senior European official told the newspaper.

The trilateral talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi this week. US special envoy Jared Kushner said that Washington intends to discuss the prospects for a settlement with European partners and expand the negotiations format to include their direct participation if progress is achieved.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar