HELSINKI, June 16. /TASS/. The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden indicates the presence of a dialogue between the two countries, which is important for Europe, Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto told journalists Wednesday, answering a question from TASS.

"The very fact that they meet is a very important symbol that there is a dialogue between the two superpowers. It is important for Finland and Europe as a whole that this dialogue exists. Earlier, we have already witnessed the extension of the New START Treaty by Russia and the US. Arms control treaties are also very important for us in Finland and for Europe," he underscored.

"We, of course, hope that the topic of climate will be discussed because we see that both the US and Russia have a mutual interest in solving this problem. Russia is the new president of the Arctic Council, and both countries are members of this organization. Matters of the Arctic are tied to matters of climate; the problem of development of the Arctic is also important, as well as the region’s status outside of the military competition [between countries]. I hope that these moments will be touched upon," Haavisto said.

He also noted that the issue of Ukraine and the situation around Russian blogger Alexey Navalny could be raised during the meeting.

"However, those are just speculations at this point, let us see what happens," the minister added.

The talks between Biden and Putin will take place in the Villa La Grange in Geneva in both narrow and extended formats, and are expected to take about four to five hours. This will be the first Russia-US summit since Putin’s meeting with Donald Trump in Helsinki in July 2018.