Finland Times

Talking to Xinhua, professor Timo Soikkanen of Turku University recalled the expression used by Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland in 1956-1981, that Finland wanted to be "a surgeon rather than a judge" on the international scene.

Decades later, the current president Niinistö said "an open channel for discussion could provide some opportunity for progress" and "every step is important in a situation where people are in great danger."

The Ukraine crisis has put the Finnish foreign policy into a particularly difficult position.

Soikkanen pointed out that Finland is a member of the European Union, but not a member of NATO. "Thus the country shares all the disadvantages related to a joint EU approach to Russia, but is without backing in the worst scenarios," the professor said.

At a press conference given by Niinistö  on Thursday, he said that "Finland has every reason to be involved in seeking a solution to this crisis."

Finland has talked with other western countries and received understanding of this, Niinistö added.

Finland is not trying to disengage from the sanctions imposed by the European Union over Russia. Niinistö noted the meeting would not be about the sanctions. "We have to live with them," he said. 

Russia announced on Thursday last week a one-year import ban on agricultural and food products from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway, in retaliation for the Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Finland has been hard hit by the counter measures launched by Russia. Finnish leading dairy company Valio had to consider cutting 800 staff, and the renowned national carrier Finnair has been worried about the threat of closing Russian airspace.

A Kremlin statement earlier had described the meeting scheduled for Friday to include discussion of the current state of bilateral cooperation between Russia and Finland and prospects for the development. Niinistö said bilateral issues would not be included though.

Finland has a long record of "small steps" or initiatives on security issues from the cold war era. The most notable of them led to the Helsinki Conference on Security and Co-operation in 1975. When first tabled in 1969 not many believed the initiative would lead to anything.

The announcement about the meeting between Putin and Niinistö coincided with the news that the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), an organization set up by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, is working behind the scenes to assist in easing the crisis in Ukraine.

Even though Finland is a member of the EU, the CMI Program Director Ville Brummer used the term "neutral". He told Finnish daily Aamulehti that the Finns have a good reputation as peace mediators as Finland is seen as "a neutral actor."