Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a 24-hour visit to Helsinki Thursday afternoon. He will hold talks with his Finnish counterpart, Tarja Halonen, in the evening ahead of Friday’s European Union-Russia summit,  YLE24 News reports.

The main topics on the agenda in Finnish-Russian talks are expected to be border customs and transport issues.

Accompanying Putin are Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Minister of Economics and Trade German Gref. The European Union-Russia summit on Friday will be dealing with energy and environment affairs, as well as cooperation in the education and cultural spheres.

The Russian President says that Russia is not seeking EU membership, but rather the creation of a joint economic area.

In an article for the newspaper Turun Sanomat evaluating issues expected at Friday’s summit, Putin wrote that Russia is aiming at a strategic partnership with the EU, based on common goals and values.

Friday’s summit in Helsinki is expected to see a decision on launching negotiations on an EU-Russia partnership agreement. According to Putin, Russia’s dialogue with European partners has shown that views are already very close on many of the points to be contained in an upcoming agreement.

Putin’s visit is expected to cause traffic delays in the capital region. The main route from Helsinki’s international airport into the centre will be closed for a period around four o’clock Thursday afternoon.

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