Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a Cabinet meeting
"I would like to stress that we are not trying to preach at local governments about the way they should operate. According to the Constitution and the law, it is their domain. They can choose priorities and the pace of reforms independently. However, it is the federal government's prerogative to allocate financial aid to regions in accordance with a local governments' efficiency. And we will certainly take advantage of this right."
Events for 12 november 2008
Bilateral talks will concern the future of the friendly Russian-Finnish relations, the development of trade, economic, scientific and technical contacts, and the improvement of their legal, contractual and normative bases.
Vladimir Putin held talks with Finland’s Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
"Finland is without any exaggeration one of our most important partners in Europe. Not only because we are neighbours, but also because the figures of our trade turnover suggest this. Our statistics show that in the first six months of this year Russia also became Finland's top partner, ahead of Germany."
