Finnish President Sauli NiinistöMOSCOW, 10 Jun. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, while on a visit to the Åland Islands, unexpectedly canceled a dinner with Swedish King Gustav XVI, writes the Daily Mail. British media claims that this happened shortly after Vladimir Putin's speech at a meeting with young entrepreneurs. Among other things, the president touched upon the topic of the legacy of Peter I, saying that, despite the wars with Sweden, he did not reject anything, but returned it. “Apparently, it also fell to our lot to return and strengthen,” Putin said. According to the Daily Mail, a few hours after that, President Niinistö and his wife flew to Helsinki by helicopter, although they had planned dinner with the Swedish king Gustav XVI and his wife Queen Silvia. The latter, by the way, decided to stay on the islands and attended an evening concert in honor of the celebration of the centenary of autonomy, but left it in the middle of the performance. Sweden and Finland started talking about the possibility of joining the North Atlantic Alliance against the background of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, but Turkey blocked the process of considering the application. The President of the Republic, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, explained that he had vetoed it because of the position of Stockholm and Helsinki regarding the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) banned in Turkey. According to Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, the settlement of differences may take several weeks.
