President Halonen and Prime Minister Putin discussed Baltic Sea and climate

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen met with Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, 3 June at the President's official residence in Mäntyniemi. Their talks in the evening focused on protecting the Baltic Sea and climate issues. President Halonen emphasized that strong participation is needed to make the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December a success. During their meeting, which lasted over two hours, President Halonen and Prime Minister Putin discussed Baltic Sea cooperation at length. Prime Minister Putin, who was on a working visit, said that he was very pleased with the day's results. On Friday President Halonen will travel to St. Petersburg at the invitation of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev to attend an international economic forum. Watch a video of the meeting.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Tarja Halonen met at Mäntyniemi. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

Earlier in the day Prime Minister Putin met with Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen to discuss economic cooperation, energy and transport issues and the Copenhagen Climate Conference, among other things. The programme also included a meeting with business leaders.

Video of the meeting

President Halonen to attend St. Petersburg International Economic Forum