Niinistö, Putin discuss trade, forest, Arctic issues in Moscow

President Sauli Niinistö on Friday met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow and discussed various bilateral and international issues including trade, forest cooperation and Arctic issues, said the President Office in a press release.

"We had only three hours to deal with many issues,” Niinistö told Finnish media in a video conference after the meeting in Kremlin.

They discussed about resumption of the rail services between the neighbouring countries and hoped that the passenger trains might resume.

The rail services remained suspended against the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s something that the discussion is sure to continue. This means, for example, intensifying joint activities in forest fires…,” Niinistö said, adding that bilateral trade, forest co-operation and the importance of forests to reduce carbon emission were also discussed.

Niinistö also raised issues related to wood imports.

In addition, Niinistö said that the presidents also spoke about other international issues, the press release added.

The Presidents last met on 21 August 2019, when Putin visited Finland.