Moscow. December 14th. INTERFAX - The main attention during the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was paid to issues related to the internal Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin's press service reported.
"Putin informed Niinisto about the results of negotiations with US President Joseph Biden via video link on December 7, and also gave a principled assessment of the situation around Ukraine, with an emphasis on the importance of Kiev's full and unconditional implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures," the statement said.
The Russian President noted, in particular, that "the Ukrainian authorities, in violation of the Minsk agreements, are increasingly relying on force methods, including using heavy weapons and attack drones in the Donbass."
In this regard, Putin, as noted in the press service, "once again stressed the need to urgently launch negotiations with the United States and NATO to develop international legal guarantees for the security of our country, excluding the further advance of the alliance to the east and the deployment of weapons systems threatening Russia on the territory of Ukraine and other neighboring states."
"Putin emphasized that this fully complies with the principle of indivisibility of security, fixed in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and the Istanbul Charter of 1999," the message says.
In this context, Putin, as reported in the Kremlin, "expressed support for Sauli Niinisto's initiative to organize a summit in 2025 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Meeting on Security and Cooperation in Europe."
"A number of topical issues on the bilateral agenda were discussed. The intention to continue the development of mutually beneficial cooperation, including trade and economic sphere, was confirmed. In addition, the importance of further cooperation in regional affairs, including in the north and in the Arctic, was emphasized," the press service added.
The leaders exchanged congratulations on the upcoming New Year and Christmas holidays, the message says.
Putin and the President of Finland discussed the situation on the Ukrainian border
