Prime Ministers Rinne and Medvedev met in Moscow

On Monday 25 November, Prime Minister Antti Rinne visited Moscow to meet the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, for the first time since Rinne became Prime Minister. The main topic discussed by the Prime Ministers were international relations. Prime Minister Rinne pointed out that the relations between the two countries are as good as they can be under the present circumstances.

With respect to the Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister Rinne stressed Russia’s key role in finding a solution.

“Russia has a decisive role in solving the Ukraine conflict. The relations between the EU and Russia cannot be normalised until the Minsk agreements have been fully implemented. We do not accept the annexation of the Crimean peninsula. Finland was among those who made the decisions, and we are fully behind the policy pursued by the EU,” Prime Minister Rinne says.

Rinne and Medvedev also discussed bilateral relations between Finland and Russia and environmental issues.

“There is a lot we can achieve together in environmental issues. We talked about concrete measures relating to the Paris Climate Agreement, and I also told about the Baltic Sea Summit that I have been planning,” Prime Minister Rinne says.

In connection with the trade relations between Finland and Russia, the Prime Ministers looked into the opportunities to develop the business environment in Russia.

“Russia is an important market for many Finnish companies. We have a lot of expertise in fields such as the treatment and management of industrial waste and wastewater,” Prime Minister Rinne says.

Among the topics raised by Prime Minister Medvedev was the new act coming into force in the beginning of next year that will restrict real estate transactions involving foreign nationals.

“What I pointed out to Prime Minister Medvedev was that this act will apply to all non-EU and non-EEA nationals and companies, instead of being targeted to Russia alone,” Prime Minister Rinne says.

On his visit, Prime Minister Rinne was accompanied by Minister of Transport and Communications Sanna Marin and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Jari Leppä.

Inquiries: Lauri Voionmaa, Special Adviser, tel. +358 50 421 0422, Dimitri Qvintus, Special Adviser (Media Relations), tel. +358 50 574 0956 and Päivi Anttikoski, Director of Government Communications, tel. +358 40 536 4821.