Niinistö plays down possible Trump-Putin meeting in Finland
Finland might host a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, according to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, but it won’t be any time soon.
That was the message from Niinistö at a hastily-arranged press conference in Helsinki called the day after he’d attended a panel discussion with the Russian leader in Arkhangelsk.
During that debate, hosted by the International Arctic Forum, Putin had agreed with the moderator that a meeting with the new US president in Finland would be a good idea.
Finland takes over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a two-year term in May. Niinistö said on Friday that a summit of the Arctic Council had been discussed with several other member states, but nothing had been agreed yet.
“The idea that a summit could happen at this notice is impossible,” said Niinistö.
Niinistö said that he had been working towards a summit of the Arctic Council in Finland for more than a year, but nothing concrete had yet been agreed.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: The Arctic Council at 20 – View from Canada, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: No Arctic summit in Finland after all, The Independent Barents Observer
Iceland: The Arctic Council at 20 – View from Iceland, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Sami ditched from Arctic Frontiers opening speeches, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Finland set to chair Arctic Council as member relations sour, Yle News
Sweden: Arctic Council – From looking out to looking in, Blog by Mia Bennett, Cryopolitics
United States: Arctic Council – Business as usual with USA under Trump?, blog by Irene Quaile, Deutsche Welle
