Languages

Visa-free travel and free trade in Finnish-Russian relations

Alexander Stubb

Foreign Minister of Finland in a speech this week said that visa-free travel and free trade are the two top bilateral issues in Finnish-Russian relations.

Location

Speaking at a summer meeting of the parliamentary group of the National Coalition Party (NCP), Stubb underlined that there is no reason to fear disputes with Russia. He at the same time stressed that “Russia sees itself as a great power, and that is a reality”, Yle News reports.

He did however admit that Finland will have to expect more family disputes between the two countries in the years to come. Over the last couple of years, several cases of dramatic family ties surfaced, causing troublesome diplomatic relations between the countries.

-We are seeing more family disputes, because there are more Finnish-Russian families in Finland, Stubb said.