Finland Times

Any representative from Finland is yet to get formal invitation from the Swedish authority to participate in the meeting scheduled to be held between the USA president Barack Obama and the leaders of the Nordic countries early September.

Meanwhile, the Finnish authority is yet to decide who will represent Finland, if the invitation comes without mentioning the name of either president Sauli Niinistö or the Prime Minister, Jyrki Katainen for the meeting.  

The US president on Wednesday abruptly cancelled his scheduled meeting  with the Russian  President Vladimir Putin  planned for early September in Moscow but expected to participate the G-20 meeting  to be held in St. Petersburg.

Obama will travel to St. Petersburg after a stay-over in Sweden where he will hold a meeting with the leaders of the Nordic Countries, Baltic news Agency BNS reported on Wednesday.

A number of international media reported that the cancellation of the Obama-Putin meeting is believed to be in response to Russia's decision to grant asylum to fugitive US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Meanwhile, sources at the President and Prime Minister offices said that they did not get any invitation from the Swedish government till Thursday for the meeting with President Obama..

“Invitation for such meeting generally comes from the organising country but the Prime Minister’s office did not get any invitation till date,” the PM office’s communication director Kari Makko told STT on Thursday.

The communication director of the president office, Katri Makkonen also said that they have no information of any invitation in this regard.

Director Katri Makkonen, however, did not make any comment replying to a query that who, the President or the Premier, will represent Finland in the meeting, if the invitation comes without specifying the name and designation.

Kari Makko, however, said that the matter of the representation for Finland should be settled down through holding talks between the president and the prime minister.

The visit of Obama has created interest among the people following the repeated dissatisfaction of the US authority over Russia after granting the asylum to Edward Snowden.

Obama will visit Sweden in early September on his way to St. Petersburg before the G-20 countries meeting.

A meeting between the Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt and Obama on global political and economic development issues from Swedish point of view is also expected to be held.

The US president is expected to hold talks with other Nordic leaders in Sweden at that time.