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Russian, Finnish presidents to meet in Sochi

During the talks, it is planned to discuss the key issues of Russian-Finnish cooperation and some pressing global and regional issues

MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto will hold talks in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Wednesday, August 22. According to the Kremlin press service, the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral relations and pressing international issues.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto who will pay a working visit to Russia on August 22, 2018, in Sochi," the Kremlin press service said. "During the talks, it is planned to discuss the key issues of Russian-Finnish cooperation and some pressing global and regional issues."

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier noted that "the visit had been agreed on in advance." Peskov recalled that the two leaders had a brief conversation in Helsinki after Putin’s meeting with US President Donald Trump, so the upcoming negotiations in Sochi will be a continuation of a dialogue on bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

According to Peskov, Finland has been traditionally very important for Russia in terms of trade and economic cooperation. "We have a lot of joint projects, work on them is in progress," he added. "Finnish companies invest in Russia actively."

The Kremlin spokesman noted that that the two presidents would exchange views on pressing regional problems, including Ukraine and Syria.

On Monday, on the eve of Niinisto’s upcoming visit to Russia, the Finnish president had a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The presidential office reported that the parties discussed the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in Syria and relations between Europe, the US and Russia.