President Halonen and President Medvedev met in Sochi

The Baltic Sea, economic cooperation between Finland and Russia, and timely international issues received attention when President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev met in Sochi on Tuesday, 11 August 2009. "We all share the same concern that the beautiful Baltic is not really in good condition. We must work together to clean it, so that, if not our children at least our grandchildren can swim in clean water," President Halonen said.President Medvedev said that he has been swimming in the Baltic since he was a child, and President Halonen invited him to try it next summer at Kultaranta, the President’s summer residence in Naantali. The meeting lasted over two hours and talks continued at a lunch that was hosted by President Medvedev and then on a boat cruise. During her visit President Halonen also met with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and learned more about Winter Olympics projects in Sochi.

President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed President Halonen to his summer residence. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic

President Halonen's and Prime Minister Vanhanen's Baltic Sea Action Summit initiative has received very positive feedback from countries in the Baltic Sea region, and President Medvedev expressed interest in the initiative.

In addition, the Presidents discussed energy matters and climate change. President Halonen emphasized how important it is for Russia to be involved in achieving a new climate agreement at the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December.

Open discussion

The Presidents also discussed economic cooperation between Finland and Russia and how cooperation could be developed, for example, by eliminating practical obstacles. Good will exists to find solutions regarding wood export duties, President Halonen said. Solutions will not be simple, however.

President Halonen looked at projects for the Sochi Winter Olympics with CEO Taimuraz Bolloyev as her guide. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic

Other topics that came up during the meeting at the Russian President's summer residence included the situation in the northern and southern Caucasus as well as human rights issues, which the Presidents openly discussed. President Halonen emphasized that the situation is extremely difficult in Chechnya, where a generation has grown up with armed violence as a fixture of daily life. The Presidents also talked about the situations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.

After lunch with President Medvedev, President Halonen met with Prime Minister Putin. The hour-long informal talks at the Prime Minister's dacha covered economic cooperation between Finland and Russia among other things.

In the morning, President Halonen took a closer look at construction projects for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Taimuraz Bolloyev, the CEO of Olimpstroy, explained that only 20 per cent of projects concern actual sports facilities, with the remainder revolving around infrastructure. According to President Halonen, Finnish companies have expertise to offer particularly in the fields of clean technology and renewable energy. “From a business perspective, the good news is that Sochi has opportunities waiting for them,” President Halonen said.

President Medvedev presented a book to President Halonen before the discussions. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic

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