Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- He will be the first leader of Finland's huge eastern neighbor to lay a wreath at the tomb of Field Marshall C.G.E. Mannerheim.... Monday September 3 6:56 AM ET Thin Crowds Greet Putin in Finland By MATTI HUUHTANEN, Associated Press Writer HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - The flags were flying but the crowds stayed away as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Monday for talks with President Tarja Halonen on his first state visit to Finland. Pockets of people and a few demonstrators lined the side of Helsinki's main market square on the waterfront, as Finnish, Russian and European Union flags fluttered in the light drizzle. Putin and Halonen were to discuss international issues - including expansion of the European Union and NATO, the Balkans and possibly the Middle East - in their talks at the downtown presidential palace. Later, he was to meet Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, Speaker of Parliament Riitta Uosukainen and business leaders. Putin arrived Sunday at the Finnish president's summer residence, Kultaranta, near Turku, 100 miles west of the capital. The two presidents held informal talks, dined and sped around the estate in a golf car, steered by Halonen. Putin also met old friends from visits before he became president, including the former soccer opponents he faced in an informal game in 1990 when he was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad. His wife, Lyudmila, visited a Turku school that specializes in music and Russian, where she listened to a choir and a pop band. Putin's visit is mainly a courtesy call at the invitation of Halonen, who visited Moscow in June 2000, a few months after she became president. Several agreements are to be signed, including on medical cooperation, anti-monopoly measures and business. Putin also will make a significant gesture to this nation of 5 million that still remembers the two bitter wars it fought against the Soviet Union. He will be the first leader of Finland's huge eastern neighbor to lay a wreath at the tomb of Field Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim, who led the Finnish struggle against Stalin's Red Army from 1939 to 1944. The Finns, remembered for the Winter War and their white-clad ``ghost army'' on skis, put up unexpectedly tough resistance. But they lost and were forced to cede 11 percent of their land - mainly parts of Karelia, a cherished southeastern region near St. Petersburg - and 400,000 people were evacuated. About a dozen demonstrators outside the presidential palace waved banners demanding the return of the region shouting, ``Karelia is ours'' and ``return Karelia.'' The Putin's were to return to Moscow in the evening after a dinner with Halonen. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
