Finland wants to ascertain feelings of Russian leaders

Russian expert says Putin plays "good cop, bad cop" with Finland and EU

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By Kaius Niemi
     
      Tuesday's meeting of the Finnish and Russian presidents touched upon a number of issues concerning relations between the two countries. However, Finnish officials say that the "main purpose" of the visit was to ascertain the attitudes of Russia's top leaders toward Finland and the European Union.
      "We are very interested in hearing what President Putin has to say. I believe that the visit will bring positive results", said one Finnish civil servant before the trip.
      Relations between Finland and Russia have been exceptionally bumpy during the autumn.
     
Vyacheslav Tuchin, a top official at the Russian Embassy in Helsinki, recently questioned whether Finland would really be able to act as a bridge-builder between Russia and the EU countries.
      Another controversial statement came from Putin's special envoy to the EU, Sergei Yastrzembski, who said recently that Finland and Denmark both belonged to a group of "Russophobic" countries.
      After that, official statements from Russia took a softer tone.
      Events have gone hand in hand with the cooling of relations between Russia and the EU. Factors in the background include the crisis surrounding the elections in Ukraine, the eastward enlargement of the EU, and criticism from the EU on human rights issues surrounding Chechnya.
     
"Just a month ago the situation was not as bad as it is now. The situation in Ukraine significantly cooled diplomatic relations between Russia and the EU", says Professor Sergei Medvedev, an expert on international politics.
      Experts feel that the cooling is also reflected in relations between Russia and Finland.
      Medvedev says that Russia has used the "old Soviet strategy" of trying to create splits within Europe.
      He notes that Russia likes to hold bilateral discussions with large European countries, such as Italy, France, and Germany, while smaller countries are depicted as causing trouble in relations between Russia and the EU.
      "Russia is using the same kind of tactic as the US administration. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld divided Europe into 'old' and 'new' parts."
     
According to Arkadi Moshes, a Russian expert who works at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, interaction between Finland and Russia operates as a general indicator of Russian-EU ties.
      "Relations between Finland and Russia are a good thermometer in the evaluation of relations between the EU and Russia." Moshes adds that criticism from the Russian civil service should not be taken too seriously.
     
Before Tuesday's meeting between Halonen and Putin, Medvedev predicted that the tone of the meeting would be warm.
      "Historically, meetings between Finnish and Russian leaders have been positive, even in more negative times. Putin will now have the possibility to warm his relations toward the European Union - that is, to play the 'good cop - bad cop' game".


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Russian Ambassador denies deterioration of relations with Finland (6.10.2004)
  President Halonen surprised at criticism from Russian diplomat (4.10.2004)
  Researcher warns against overdramatising relations with Russia (14.12.2004)
  Foreign Minister Tuomioja says letter from MEPs may have provoked Russia (10.12.2004)

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