Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, I’m very happy to welcome you to Russia.

Finland is not only our good neighbour and friend but also a major trade and economic partner. Last year our trade grew by 28%, and by another 24% in the first five months of this year. We must do everything we can in order to maintain this pace. We see nervousness and turbulence in the international markets, but there is a lot we can do to ensure that our bilateral ties develop rhythmically and as planned, and to make sure that everything is on the rise.

We have dozens of large-scale joint projects, and they are all progressing successfully. I know that your government has set up additional coordinating bodies for cooperation with Russia, which you oversee. We are very pleased about this and will discuss this in more detail today. Welcome to Moscow! 

Jyrki Katainen (via interpreter): Thank you very much, Mr Prime Minister. I’m very glad that you’ve found the time to invite me to Sochi in the middle of the summer season. I have long been dreaming of visiting Sochi and even told my family that it would be great to take a vacation there. So I’m truly very happy for the opportunity to meet you, to see the city and to discuss the economy and other issues with you. I think we are both interested in the economy, especially within the context of the crisis. And there are some other issues of mutual interest for us to discuss.

We have traditionally had excellent relations with Russia. These relations are very good today, even though the world is constantly changing around us. I think we are connected to each other by our common challenges. At the present time, the economy in particular is one of these major challenges. We must look for new forms of economic cooperation in order to sustain the proper development of the economies of Russia and Finland, and to keep pace with other countries.

I’d like to convey to you the warmest wishes of our President Tarja Halonen. She has also had a very busy summer and she wishes you a very good summer and an enjoyable vacation. We have a new government in Finland, and we aim to pursue three main goals in our activities: consistency, activity and the close integration between people and official agencies.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.