President Sauli Niinistö will travel to Kiev, Ukraine, in mid-September to meet with freshly minted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the office of the president.
This is the first time that Niinistö will meet Zelensky, previously a comedian and actor, who started in the presidential post in May.
It’s been five years since Niinistö last visited Ukraine in 2014.
Helsinki meeting with Putin
Before heading to Kiev, Niinistö is to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on August 21st.
Putin and Niinistö have met regularly since they both took respective offices in 2012, even when many other European leaders declined to to meet with Putin in response to the Ukraine crisis.