FINLAND: MEDVEDEV'S FIRST VISIT A "PROMISING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000151

SIPDIS

EUR/NB FOR ALAN MELTZER, NSC FOR J.HOVENIER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2019
TAGS: EIND ENRG ETRD FI PREL RS
SUBJECT: FINLAND: MEDVEDEV'S FIRST VISIT A "PROMISING
BEGINNING"

Classified By: Charge D'Affaires Michael A. Butler for reasons 1.4(b) a
nd (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. President Halonen came away very satisfied
from Russian President Medvedev's first visit to Finland on
April 20-21. Having forged a good relationship with Putin,
Halonen seeks a good rapport with his successor, and
Medvedev's self-deprecating and modest demeanor went over
well with his Finnish audience. The visit left the Finns no
more certain about a division of power between Medvedev and
Prime Minister Putin, as the former failed to deflect any
points to the PM on the largely bilateral and economic
agenda. Halonen's preference is to focus on those concrete
bilateral issues, so while Medvedev addressed his proposed
European Security Pact, he did so in a speech and the two
barely touched on the subject in private. Halonen saw little
progress on the bilateral agenda, but the economic downturn
has removed the urgency of some matters like wood export
tariffs. However, the promising beginning seen in the
Presidents' relations may prove beneficial when those issues
regain their prior urgency. END SUMMARY.

Medvedev Impresses Finnish Audience
--------------


2. (C) In an April 24 meeting, Finnish President Halonen's
advisor Aleksi Harkonen expressed to PolChief the President's
satisfaction with Russian President Medvedev's first visit to
Finland on April 20-21. Harkonen said that the "clearly
post-Soviet" Medvedev's easy-going, self-deprecating and -
most importantly - modest attitude went over very well with
his Finnish audience. MFA Russia Unit Director Maimo
Henriksson confirmed a comfortable interaction in an April 22
meeting with Polchief, adding she (Henriksson) was surprised
and impressed by Medvedev's "calm and relaxed" demeanor
throughout numerous meetings and events (her surprise
stemming from his ability to speak unaided, at length and in
detail about bilateral relations with Russia's small
neighbor, and the ease with which this "civil servant and
attorney from St. Petersburg" handled the pomp of a state
visit). (NOTE: A Social Democratic parliamentarian opined to
Polchief on April 23 that Medvedev's "poorly delivered
speech" at the University of Helsinki showed that him to be a
civil servant relatively new to politics. END NOTE.)


3. (C) As is typical even in high-level visits, the agenda
focused largely but not exclusively on bilateral economic and
trade issues. As Harkonen put it, "These are issues we want
solved, and we wanted to see what the President had to say."
The Finns found it interesting that at no time did Medvedev
say that an issue raised did not fall to him but to the Prime
Minister, so that the "division of labor" between the two
remained unclear. Medvedev made no promises and never said,
"I will fix this," which Harkonen found more welcome than the
long-remembered and empty "I will take care of this" promises
of President Yeltsin. The Finns intend to raise the same
issues with PM Putin in Helsinki in June. (NOTE: Foreign
Ministers Stubb and Lavrov spoke extensively during the
course of the visit, but according to Harkonen the substance
did not vary from that of the Presidents' conversations. END
NOTE.)

Topics: U.S., Nordstream, But No Security Pact
-------------- -


4. (C) According to Henriksson, the two presidents spoke of
the change in U.S.-Russian relations, with both commenting
positively not only about President Obama but also President
Bush. President Medvedev expressed a favorable personal
impression of the latter while acknowledging disagreement "on
almost all issues." Halonen noted Finland's historic role in
U.S.-Russian/Soviet relations, and offered to play the same
role as required, to which Medvedev responded positively if
not concretely.


5. (C) President Halonen expressed her hope that Russia would
join the WTO. Medvedev responded that the process is a "two
way road," and that Russia needed U.S. and European support,
a response Henriksson interpreted as "don't blame us."
Though press reports stated that Halonen asked Medvedev to
address his proposed European security pact in a speech at
the University of Helsinki, Harkonen said the two spoke very
little about the pact, and Finland was not asked to do
anything in relation to it. Publicly, Halonen did not voice
support for the pact, saying only that the matter bears
examination.


6. (C) The Presidents spoke of the EU's Baltic Strategy and

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the Northern Dimension, with Halonen commenting on the need
to cooperate with Russia on environmental issues; for
example, as St. Petersburg's waste water treatment becomes
less of an issue, attention should turn to projects designed
to decrease runoff into the Baltic Sea from many poultry
farms in the St. Petersburg area. The two also spoke of the
Nordstream pipeline project, with Halonen stressing that
Finland's role is non-political and focused solely on the
environmental impact. She explained that in July the
government would assess the sufficiency of Nordstream's
submission, and if deemed sufficient the next step would be
two environmental approvals, one from the Ministry of Labor
and Economy and one from a regional authority (regarding
water quality). Medvedev voiced no particular concerns about
the length of the process. (NOTE: Henriksson referred to the
Finns' need to repeatedly explain their non-political,
environmentally-based procedures, saying that the Russian
perspective is "if the Prime Minister supports something he
simply orders it done." END NOTE.)

No Joy on Bilateral Issues
--------------


7. (C) Halonen made no headway on the bilateral issues
routinely raised, e.g., Medvedev gave no indication Russia
would postpone indefinitely a wood export tariff increase.
Halonen requested a loosening of Russian restrictions on
property ownership, as many Finns are interested in
purchasing land in parts of Karelia, a region lost to Russia
after the Continuation War in the mid-1940s. Medvedev
responded that the law restricting such sales in border
regions (described as "vague and poorly defined" Henriksson)
would not change, though he blamed problems on Russia's
eastern border, not the Finnish border. Halonen also pressed
for Finnish access to Russian high-tech and construction
sectors, on the latter not only in housing construction but
opportunities for Finland's expertise in building
"multi-purpose structures," e.g., in relation to the Olympics
to be held in Sochi. Medvedev welcomed greater market access
on both sides, indicating Russia's desire to compete for bids
related to construction of another nuclear plant in Finland.


8. (C) COMMENT: Halonen enjoyed good relations with Putin
when he held the Presidency. Part of her success in achieving
such relations came from avoiding critical or provocative
public statements, and keeping the agenda to concrete
bilateral concerns like wood tariffs. Apparently unfazed by
occasional criticism in the press of a too-cozy relationship
(e.g., a supposedly slow and noncritical response to the
Georgia crisis),Halonen appears to favor the same approach
with Medvedev. While the Finns made little progress on their
bilateral agenda, Halonen appears to have forged a rapport
with Medvedev. That rapport may prove beneficial in an
eventual economic upturn when certain bilateral issues like
wood tariffs regain their prior urgency. END COMMENT.

BUTLER