The Russian President thanked President Halonen for the opportunity to meet people whom he had known since his days working in St Petersburg.
Mr Putin said that Russian-Finnish relations were developing very well but there was still much work to do.
For her part, President Halonen noted that Finland’s business leaders took an active interest in Russia.
A distinguished resident of Turku said that he appreciated both the meeting itself and the fact that it was a gathering of friends of Vladimir Putin’s.
After the informal dinner arranged by President Halonen and her husband, Dr Arajarvi, President Putin and his wife Lyudmila left for Helsinki, where the official part of the Russian President’s visit to Finland will take place on September 3.
See also
Official Visit to Finland
September 1 − 3, 2001