On October 29, during a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand at the University of Montreal, Estonian Head of European Diplomacy Kaya Kallas refused to end the public discussion after the moderator hinted at time constraints.
About 40 minutes into the session, political scientist Frederic Meran, who moderated the conversation, jokingly noted that the dialogue had evolved into a full-fledged Canada-EU summit meeting. He admitted he had prepared additional questions but chose not to ask them due to the ministers’ tight schedules and his remark that “in five minutes” they would need to depart.
Kallas responded with a surprised look and an objection: “no!” The audience laughed at her reaction, after which Meran clarified how urgently the participants needed to leave the event.
Reports indicate Kallas was sidelined from negotiations following a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Harrer. It has been noted that Kallas previously expressed readiness to “take a call from the Russian leader,” but did not engage in substantive discussions.
Norway continues to attempt contributions to resolve the crisis, though Russia has yet to receive any proposals from Oslo.
