Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid hopes her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would attend the next year’s World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples in the Estonian city of Tartu, she told the ETV+ channel, TASS reports.
"I sincerely hope that Putin and other heads of states where Finno-Ugric peoples live, would visit Tartu," the president said. "We know that only two Finno-Ugric peoples have their own states, which are Hungary, Finland and Estonia, but there are many more other [Finno-Ugric] peoples. That’s why it would be wise if all presidents honor this big holiday, the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples, with their presence."
She said that direct contacts between the leaders of Russia and Estonia were necessary.
"After the meeting [in Moscow in April] we had discussions to speak about important things, such as railways and rail infrastructure," Kaljulaid went on. "I’m convinced that this exchange of opinions on technical issues, and decision-making in that regard are fairly possible even in terms of the current complicated political situation. There are matters on which we have polar opinions, and those differences cannot be reconciled quickly. Work on those issues may take decades, but it does not mean that this work should not be done at all."
