Finnish President Tarja Halonen failed to win concessions from Russia in a timber tariffs row at her first meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a senior Kremlin official said on Saturday.
Halonen and Medvedev met in the Siberian oil town on the fringes of a summit of Finno-Ugric nations, two days after Finland threatened action against Russia in a long-running row over timber tariffs. Hungary and Estonia are also at the summit. “The President of Finland actively raised the issue of raw timber supplies (from Russia to Finland),” said Sergei Prikhodko, Medvedev’s foreign policy adviser.
“President Medvedev provided all necessary explanations in line with Russia’s policy aimed at developing timber processing in the territory of Russian Federation,” Prikhodko added.
Finland, which is as large a trading partner with Russia as the United States, said this week it was considering counter-measures in a dispute over higher export tariffs imposed by Russia to kick-start its wood processing industry.
Finland said it might impose a tariff on goods transported across Finland to Russia to raise cash to compensate its paper makers. Russia said such a measure could contradict international trade laws.
Prikhodko said Finland’s counter-measures were not discussed at the meeting.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (812-mile) border with Russia, has said it will lose up to 16,000 jobs because of the duties. Finland’s economy suffered from both the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia’s 1998 financial crisis.
“Our countries cooperate broadly and this cooperation is linked with certain challenges,” Halonen told Medvedev. “I do not want to describe them as problems.” A Kremlin source said, “the atmosphere of the meeting was normal first of all because the Finnish side perfectly understands the importance of good relations with Russia and a need to maintain them.”
Halonen greeted Medvedev in Russian to show goodwill. Medvedev said: “Our trade steadily grows and the current figure of 15 billion euros ($23.61 billion) is an impressive figure. ... We will talk about tasks for the future and also about problems which sometimes emerge,” he said.
The meeting followed a Russia-EU summit in Khanty-Mansiysk on Friday at which Medvedev criticised the desire of “some EU members to use the European Union as an instrument of solving their national problems”. Halonen invited Medvedev to visit Finland, which the Russian leader accepted.
“Finland now hosts a hard rock festival which could be of interest to you,” she told Medvedev, who is a fan of British rock band Deep Purple. “Shall we go right now?” joked the Russian leader.
Halonen and Medvedev met in the Siberian oil town on the fringes of a summit of Finno-Ugric nations, two days after Finland threatened action against Russia in a long-running row over timber tariffs. Hungary and Estonia are also at the summit. “The President of Finland actively raised the issue of raw timber supplies (from Russia to Finland),” said Sergei Prikhodko, Medvedev’s foreign policy adviser.
“President Medvedev provided all necessary explanations in line with Russia’s policy aimed at developing timber processing in the territory of Russian Federation,” Prikhodko added.
Finland, which is as large a trading partner with Russia as the United States, said this week it was considering counter-measures in a dispute over higher export tariffs imposed by Russia to kick-start its wood processing industry.
Finland said it might impose a tariff on goods transported across Finland to Russia to raise cash to compensate its paper makers. Russia said such a measure could contradict international trade laws.
Prikhodko said Finland’s counter-measures were not discussed at the meeting.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (812-mile) border with Russia, has said it will lose up to 16,000 jobs because of the duties. Finland’s economy suffered from both the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia’s 1998 financial crisis.
“Our countries cooperate broadly and this cooperation is linked with certain challenges,” Halonen told Medvedev. “I do not want to describe them as problems.” A Kremlin source said, “the atmosphere of the meeting was normal first of all because the Finnish side perfectly understands the importance of good relations with Russia and a need to maintain them.”
Halonen greeted Medvedev in Russian to show goodwill. Medvedev said: “Our trade steadily grows and the current figure of 15 billion euros ($23.61 billion) is an impressive figure. ... We will talk about tasks for the future and also about problems which sometimes emerge,” he said.
The meeting followed a Russia-EU summit in Khanty-Mansiysk on Friday at which Medvedev criticised the desire of “some EU members to use the European Union as an instrument of solving their national problems”. Halonen invited Medvedev to visit Finland, which the Russian leader accepted.
“Finland now hosts a hard rock festival which could be of interest to you,” she told Medvedev, who is a fan of British rock band Deep Purple. “Shall we go right now?” joked the Russian leader.