Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in an interview with the Financial Times said that Western countries should respect Russia and reckon with its national interests, writes TASS.
“The most important thing is that you [in cooperation] with the Russians do not provoke and ignore them,” the head of Finland emphasized.
The President recalled that in the 1990s, the mayor of the Finnish city, Juhani Leppä, had frequent contact with Russian leader Vladimir Putin when he worked in the St. Petersburg executive authorities. According to him, a respectful relationship has developed between politicians, which Putin and Lepnya still maintain. However, the head of Finland noted that Helsinki is attentive to Moscow’s activities in the military sphere.
“In Finland there is an old proverb that a Cossack takes everything that is bad. The country should be ready to take a firm position on certain issues”, he summed up.