Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is due to visit Finland on Wednesday of next week at the invitation of his Finnish counterpart Matti Vanhanen (Centre Party).
Usually the Finnish and Russian prime ministers meet twice a year. The previous meeting took place in Moscow in November. While in Finland, Putin will also meet the President of the Republic Tarja Halonen.
Some of the arrangements have not been firmed up yet, but at present it would seem that Putin’s itinerary will not include an overnight stay in Finland.
At the top of the agenda for the visit are likely to be timber tariff questions and the Nord Stream gas pipeline construction project.
