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 part of the negotiations at the presidential residence in Sochi Bocharov Ruchey, lasted about an hour and a half. At the final press conference, Vladimir Putin called the discussion "very informative" and expressed his opinion, that this would contribute to the development of bilateral relations. "I very much hope that during the Finnish chairman [in the European Union] we will also be able to do something positive in order to restore the normal state of relations between Russia and the EU," the Russian leader said, recalling that Finland will lead the EU in the second half of next year.
Settlement in Syria and the southeast of Ukraine were also part of the topics discussed at the meeting. In summary of the conversation, Putin said that he would like to continue discussing these issues. Sauli Niinisto also announced his intention to discuss the situation in Syria. "It is always very interesting to me to listen to the opinion and views of the President [of Russia] on this matter," he said.
At the final press conference, Putin also touched upon the issue of ensuring security in the region. He noted that Russia welcomes initiatives to reduce tensions but was forced to respond to the advancement of NATO's infrastructure to its borders and the emergence of parts of the US anti-missile system near them. According to Putin, Moscow does not place its military contingents "somewhere away from [Russian] borders, near countries in NATO."
Also, the presidents discussed the problems of the Arctic. Putin said Russia is ready to take part in the Arctic summit, which is organized by Finland.