HELSINKI, July 16. /TASS/. Monday’s Helsinki meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump may help strengthen global security, Director of the Finnish Institute of Foreign Affairs Teija Tiilikainen said in an interview with the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper.
"We have seen in the recent years that relations between the United States and Russia are going through a crisis," she said. "It is important that they sit down at the negotiating table and think it over. It is in the world’s interest that the spiral of conflict stops unwinding," Tiilikainen added.
According to the Finnish expert, dialogue between the Russian and US leaders is crucial because "tensions are high and relations need to be improved." In her view, the Helsinki meeting will help the two presidents test the waters.
Tiilikainen pointed out that "it is important for the security of Finland and other small states that the leaders of great powers maintain relations with each other." "Otherwise, risks will be high. When there are conflicts and different stances but there is no effective dialogue, then the parties get a negative impression of one another," she stressed.
The meeting between the Russian and US presidents will take place in Helsinki on July 16. Putin and Trump first held talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. In November 2017, Putin and Trump held a brief meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Vietnam, adopting a joint statement on Syria. In addition, the two leaders have also held several telephone conversations.