Finnish Foreign Minister Kanerva meets Russian colleague in Sweden

Ukraine and Belarus interested in joining Council of Baltic Sea States

Sergei Lavrov

Ilkka Kanerva

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Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva (Nat. Coalition) met for the first time with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Malmö, Sweden, on Wednesday.
      The subject matter of the prompt meeting included the situation in Kosovo, Finland’s upcoming chairmanship at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and a follow-up meeting between the two ministers scheduled in Moscow in early July.
     
Within a week, the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs has now met with the foreign ministers of both the United States and Russia.
      In Kanerva’s view it is not a coincidence that Finland is being very active on the foreign policy front at the moment.
      "The idea is to emphasise Finland’s strong profile in its foreign policy pursuits", the minister explains.
     
Kanerva met with his Russian counterpart in Malmö, in connection with the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) foreign ministers' meeting. The council consists of nine actual Baltic Sea nations, plus Norway, Iceland, and the EU. The council may well still expand further.
      "Even Ukraine and Belarus have expressed interest in joining the CBSS. In Malmö we discussed how the operation and the structure of the council could be improved through tighter cooperation", Kanerva said after the meeting.
      The Council’s cooperation agenda includes, among other things, economic, energy, and environmental issues. Furthermore, the CBSS strives to promote sustainable development and to further maritime safety.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish Foreign Minister invites Rice to Finland (12.6.2007)

Links:
  CBSS

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