HELSINKI (AP) – Finland has offered to host a summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Washington and Moscow, the Finnish presidency announced on April 16. The Kremlin has not yet agreed to Biden’s proposal for a meeting between the U.S. and Russian heads of state against the backdrop of tensions in Ukraine.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s office told AFP that “Washington and Moscow have been informed that Helsinki is willing to ‘organize’ the summit. The Nordic country previously hosted a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in July 2018.”
On Tuesday, during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Joe Biden had proposed a U.S.-Russian summit “in the next few months” and “in a third country.” Washington’s wish is to hold it in Europe this “summer”.
Against the backdrop of tensions around Ukraine, the Kremlin, despite confirming Biden’s offer, has not yet accepted it.
AFP said Biden has adopted a policy of both “counterattack” and “reaching out” to Putin, announcing on Thursday a series of tough financial sanctions against Russia and expelling 10 Russian diplomats, drawing the ire of Moscow, while at the same time proposing a summit with He also proposed a summit with Putin to “de-escalate” tensions.
Although Finland has a bitter history with Russia, it is not a member of NATO and the Nordic country has close diplomatic ties with Russia and thus often plays the role of “diplomatic bridge to Moscow.
According to Helsinki, Finnish President Niinistö, who supports continued dialogue with Moscow, had a “long” conversation with Putin on Tuesday evening, during which he discussed the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Biden.
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