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Russian, Finnish presidents discuss Russia-EU relations, Ukraine, Baltic security

The two leaders also considered the possibility of using the Saimaa canal on a greater scale
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Russian President Vladimir Putin Mikhail Klementyev/TASS
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Russian President Vladimir Putin
© Mikhail Klementyev/TASS

MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto have discussed bilateral relations, as well as relations between Russia and the European Union, the situation in Ukraine and security in the Baltic region, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media after the talks on Friday.

"There was a rather constructive and useful discussion between the two presidents. They spoke in detail about all aspects of Russian-Finnish cooperation," Peskov said. In this context, the issue of the forthcoming termination of the export of unprocessed timber from Russia starting from January 1, 2022 was raised.

"This problem is very relevant for Finnish woodworking enterprises. Various options of interaction in this field were discussed," the Kremlin official stated.

Also, the two leaders considered the possibility of using the Saimaa canal on a greater scale. "A detailed exchange of opinion took place over the issue of Russia-EU relations with a special emphasis on the energy sector."

"Ukraine was touched upon. Security in the Baltic region was discussed in general," Peskov said.

It was Niinisto's eleventh visit to Russia in the capacity of Finland's president. Previously, Putin and Niinisto met in Finland in August 2019. On September 17, the two leaders held a telephone conversation to discuss bilateral cooperation, Afghanistan and some other world issues.