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Telephone conversation with President of Finland Sauli Niinistö

April 13, 2021

President of Russia Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö.

The discussion focused on important aspects of the neighbourly relations between Russia and Finland, as well as the current state and prospects for advancing mutually beneficial relations in various fields.

The two leaders exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues. In particular, both expressed commitment to continuing productive cooperation in the North in the context of Russia's 2021–2023 chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

Sauli Niinistö shared his new initiative to hold a summit in the Finnish capital in 2025 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe with an eye towards reviving the “spirit of Helsinki.” Vladimir Putin supported this idea and mentioned Russia’s proposal to convene a meeting of the heads of state of the permanent members of the UN Security Council which shares essentially the same goals.

At the request of Sauli Niinistö, Vladimir Putin outlined Russia’s approaches to resolving the internal crisis in Ukraine and emphasised the provocative actions by Kiev, which has most recently purposefully exacerbated the situation on the contact line. In this regard, he pointed out that there is no alternative to the Minsk Package of Measures as the basis for a peaceful settlement. He also underscored the importance of the full and unfailing implementation of the Normandy format agreements by Ukraine.

The President of Russia also informed his Finnish counterpart about the telephone conversation initiated by the United States that he had just had with President Joseph Biden.

It was agreed to continue contacts at various levels.

April 13, 2021