Vladimir Putin, who stepped down from his post as President of Russia to make way for Dmitri Medvedev this week, might visit Finland in May as his country's Prime Minister.
In Helsinki, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday that plans for a visit to Finland by the Russian Prime Minister are under preparation.
Details of the visit have not been confirmed, because Putin still needs to be appointed to the Prime Minister's post. The most likely time for the visit is May 23-24.
The Finnish and Russian prime ministers meet regularly, twice a year. Now it is the turn of the Russian Prime Minister to visit Finland.
One of the likely items on the agenda will be the export quotas placed by Russia on raw timber, a move which has been sharply opposed by the Finnish wood processing industry.
President Tarja Halonen previously invited Dmitri Medvedev to visit Finland.
