Putin Is Congratulated Again as Finnish President Calls Moscow
Putin Is Congratulated Again as Finnish President Calls Moscow
(Bloomberg) -- Finland’s president has congratulated Vladimir Putin on his election victory for the second time in the space of three days.
Thursday’s phone call between Helsinki and Moscow came as U.S. President Donald Trump continued to face criticism at home for complimenting the Russian leader on his re-election.
Sauli Niinisto, who has forged a close working relationship with his Russian counterpart over the years, discussed international developments with Putin, his office said in a statement (Niinisto had already sent Putin a congratulatory message on Monday).
Finland and Russia share a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border and have focused on forging pragmatic relations after fighting each other in two wars in the 1940s.
In Brussels for an EU summit, Finland’s prime minister appeared to question the evidence that the Kremlin was behind the poisoning of a Russian spy in London.
Russia’s contribution is “essential” in bringing clarity to the nerve agent attack in the U.K., Niinisto told Putin.
--With assistance from Raine Tiessalo
To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo
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