Prime Ministers of Finland and Russia met in Helsinki

Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipilä and Prime Minister of Russia Dmitri Medvedev met in Helsinki on 26 September 2018. The Prime Ministers discussed the bilateral relations between Finland and Russia and certain regional and international issues. This was the fourth meeting between the Prime Ministers.

“The main topics for me and my colleague today were environmental questions. The environment knows no national borders. Through persistent cooperation over the years we have managed to improve the state of the Baltic Sea. Now we wish to draw attention to climate issues more broadly”, Minister Sipilä says.

“The topics discussed included the international climate negotiations and reducing black carbon emissions. Finland is prepared to organise an Arctic summit during the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Among the key targets is to promote practical action to reduce black carbon emissions.”

The Prime Ministers discussed Finnish-Russian cooperation in the waste sector and visited a waste treatment and recycling plant of Fortum.

“We had a good talk about the economic relations between our two countries. The volumes of trade between Finland and Russia have stayed about the same as last year. Russia remains one of the most important trading partners for us. However, for Finland the trade balance is showing a permanent deficit”, Prime Minister Sipilä says.

Finland has investment projects under way in Russia worth EUR 12 billion, and new projects are being planned. Per capita, Finland is the largest foreign investor in Russia. Even if faced with difficulties at times, Finnish companies still operate in Russia on a long-term basis.

“Today the Finnish company Valmet and Russian SVEZA signed a Protocol of Intent concerning technology for the SVEZA pulp mill to be built in Russia. Particular attention will be paid to minimising the environmental load. We also talked about the Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant. In Finland security always comes first – at all stages of building a nuclear power plant”, Minister Sipilä says.

Also on the agenda were the security of the Baltic Sea region and growing maritime transport in the Gulf of Finland. The main international questions discussed were Ukraine and Syria.

”In Finland we are particularly concerned about the suffering of the civilian population, getting humanitarian aid to the area and finding a sustainable solution. One issue discussed in public that I also mentioned was the situation of film director Oleg Sentsov, which has been a matter of some concern in Europe.”

”The Ukrainian conflict is strongly reflected in the relations between the EU and Russia. The relations depend on finding a solution to the conflict, where Russia has a key role. Despite the sanctions in force, the EU and Russia are neighbours and dialogue between them is vital. Contacts between our two countries on the level of the civil society are also very important for Finland”, Prime Minister Sipilä says.

Inquiries: Jani Raappana, Special Adviser (international affairs), tel. +358 50 566 7889 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister’s Office