Contents tagged with Finland

  • Putin invites the president of Finland for a ride on his yacht

    After the official part of talks by both sides, Presidents of Russia and Finland, Vladimir Putin, and Sauli Niinisto continued the conversation in an informal atmosphere: the Russian leader invited his Finnish colleague to take a boat trip on the presidential yacht Chaika, reports Interfax.

    According to the agency, the presidents departed on the yacht from the port of Sochi to the marina in the Imereti Lowlands. Their conversation was in English without the use of an interpreter.

    The official …

  • Ukrainian Ambassador believes Finland will deport Russians who entered the country with passports issued in Crimea

    Two residents with international passports issued by annexed Crimea received Finnish tourist visas and were allowed to enter the country because human error, Radio Liberty reports, citing a statement from the Ukrainian Ambassador to Finland, Andriy Olefirov.

    “It seems to me that these residents were allowed to travel to Finland on a tourist visa because of human error. Up to a million Schengen visas are issued at the consulates in St. Petersburg every year. Of course, there’s no law that …

  • Finland threatens to deport Russian family to Ukraine because of passports issued in Crimea

    Married couple Natalia Kushnarenko and Mikhail Berezhnoy received passports of Russian citizenship in the Crimea but they live in Finland. The Finnish authorities threatened the family with deportation to Ukraine, Yle reports.

    The Finnish government emphasized that citizens are not allowed to receive a visa with Russian passport issued on the peninsula.

    As RIA Novosti reports, the family arrived in Finland in September 2017 on tourist visas that were received at the Consulate General of …

  • Finland joins the diplomatic boycott of FIFA 2018 World Cup

    Finnish authorities decided to join the diplomatic boycott of the World Cup that begins in Russia on June 14. According to the Ambassador of Ukraine in Helsinki, Andrii Olefirov, the first persons of the state will not be present at the matches.

    "The top leadership of Finland will not participate in the championship. It is not my merit but it is a matter of common sense. Everyone goes about their work,” the diplomat wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, June 12. Olefirov also urged Ukrainian citizens …

  • Construction of the first gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia has begun

    Construction of the Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline “The Baltic Connector” began in the Finnish city of Inkoo, Yle reports. The Connector is the first gas pipeline in Finland. It will run along the bottom of the Sea and work to reduce dependency on Russian gas supplies.

    The pipeline’s construction is set to be completed in 2020. However, during that time, the Finnish market will be open to competition.

    Construction of the pipeline costs 250 million euro. The European Union will allocate 75% of …

  • Finland issues permission for construction of Nord Stream-2

    The Regional Administrative Department of South Finland has issued permission for construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline in the exclusive economic zone of the country, Interfax reports.

    Permission was issued for the laying of a new 374-kilometer pipeline in the  exclusive economic zone, 20 meters from the previously laid Nord Stream 1 pipe.

    Finland’s Ministry of Economy issued a permit for construction of the Nord Stream-2 on April 5.

    Germany was the first country to issue a full …

  • Finland will allocate 15 million euros for assistance to Ukraine

    Finland will allocate 15 million euros for the development of educational and energy-efficiency projects in Ukraine in 2018-2021. As RBC-Ukraine reports, this was said by Timo Soini, the Foreign Minister of Finland, at a joint press conference with Pavel Klimkin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

    Soini said, "Finland will continue to increase its support to Ukraine, which has reached 34 million euros since the beginning of the conflict. We also make a great contribution to the …

  • Finnish Foreign Minister confirms his country's readiness to participate in UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has claimed that Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini told him that Finland is ready to participate in a UN peacekeeping mission, in the case of its introduction to the Donbas.

    "Our Finnish friends are essentially ready to participate in the upcoming peacekeeping operation, but now they have to put pressure on Russia so that it would be a real peacekeeping operation, not an operation to allow Russia legitimizing its protectorate in the occupied …

  • Finland says it is ready to send peacekeepers to the Donbas

    If an agreement is reached concerning a peacekeeping operation in Ukraine under the aegis of the UN, Finland should take part in it, as stated by the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, at the Munich Security Conference, Yle reports.

    "This is one of the most serious problems in Europe, that is why if there is even a small opportunity to resolve the crisis, Finland should take part in the settlement of this crisis," he stated at a meeting with Finnish journalists in Munich. At the same tine …

  • Foreign Minister of Finland: We want to see a stable Russia, but its future is concerning

    Russia is a next-door neighbor of Finland, and it is a major issue for Helsinki to always support an open dialogue with Moscow, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Timo Soini, wrote in an op-ed to the Dagens Nyheter. In particular, the Minister said a stable Russia was in the interest of Finland, but at the same time there were growing concerns over the domestic situation in the Russian Federation, where the economy heavily depends on natural resources and civic society is discarded as mere …