Russian, Finnish FMs Meet to Push for Greater Russian-Finnish Trade

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Finnish counterpart Timo Soini met for bilateral talks on Wednesday, their second meeting in two weeks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini met for bilateral talks in Oulo, Finland on Wednesday to discuss a range of issues, focusing on bilateral trade relations, and also addressing pressing international problems including the Syrian crisis and the fight against terrorism.

"This is actually our second meeting in two weeks; we met in New York on the sidelines of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly," said Sergey Lavrov at a joint press conference following the meeting.

Lavrov described the talks as taking place during a difficult period for Europe and the world, which requires cooperation and good neighborly relations between countries.

"Our Finnish friends have told us a good saying: 'The son learns from his father, and a neighbor, from his neighbor.' All of our history, which is rich in the exchange of experiences and mutual support, reveals that our relations have truly pursued such a course," said Russia's foreign minister.

In spite of the sanctions imposed by the European Union that dented trade between Russia and Finland in the past year, Lavrov pointed to positive trends in the investment sphere. Investment projects such as that of Finnish energy company Fortum in Russia, and Rosatom's collaboration with Fennovoima to construct an atomic energy station in Finland, continue to show good progress.

In addition, Lavrov expressed optimism that the resumption of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, which was agreed on between the foreign ministers during their talks, will also contribute to the greater strengthening of economic ties. 

Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini in turn described the talks as "very good and substantial", and remarked on the two countries' good working relationship.

The two foreign ministers held their talks on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the European Commission. On Wednesday the presidency of the council passed from Finland to the Russian Federation.