TALLINN, April 12. /TASS/. Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid’s meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, scheduled for April 18, will facilitate bilateral dialogue, Kaljulaid said in a televised interview with the Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) on Friday.
"I am hoping that it [the meeting with Vladimir Putin - TASS] will result in dialogue that will be as sincere as possible and will embrace all levels, not just the presidential one," she said.
"I think that we will try to focus on the themes which might be more beneficial for our people in their daily, practical communication," she added. "Primarily, on projects for the EU next budget period. It is one of the sectors where we can surely communicate. Many of our students are in Russia. Our people go there, many of them have relatives there. We have quite many practical routine topics for discussion."
Kaljulaid dubbed the "fact that the meeting will take place" as "a good sign."
Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Estonian daily Postimees that at the talks with the Estonian counterpart, the Russian president would try to allay Estonia’s fears in security. Peskov said that the meeting pursues a goal "of getting to know each other and of discussing pressing issues," so practical decisions should not be expected.
Peskov told reporters last week that Putin plans to meet with the visiting Estonian president in Moscow on April 18. During her visit, Kaljulaid is scheduled to unveil the renovated building of Estonia’s embassy. The head of the Communication Department at the Office of the Estonian President, Kaidi Aher, told TASS on Tuesday that the Estonian president hopes to meet the Russian leader during her working visit to Moscow on April 18 specifying that the official request for a meeting had already been made.