Finland's Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja, is one of dozens of international dignitaries in Kiev on Saturday to attend the inauguration ceremony of Ukraine’s newly elected president Petro Poroshenko.
Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate magnate, was elected with over half the vote in a single round at Ukraine’s general election in May. Poroshenko won on a ticket of promising to bridge the east-west conflict that has divided the country.
Saturday’s swearing-in comes as government forces continue to fight separatist groups in the east of the country. Yet Poroshenko has been buoyed by signs of support from Western leaders such as US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he met in France this week.
Poroshenko also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of D-day commemorations in France on Friday. Poroshenko afterwards described the meeting as ‘tense’ but said it was the beginning of a dialogue.
President Putin told reporters he liked Mr Poroshenko's approach but would wait to see what he could deliver, and called for an immediate ceasefire before talks could begin.
Finnish president Sauli Niinistö also met Poroshenko in Warsaw on Wednesday.
Other foreign dignitaries attending Saturday’s swearing-in include US Vice President Joe Biden and Russia’s Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov.