Today, May 3, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made an unexpected visit to Helsinki (Finland). The Office of the President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, reports this, Yle writes.
The reception ceremony took place near the Presidential Palace at 1:20 p.m. The national anthems of Ukraine and Finland were played. Then President Zelenskyy shook hands with representatives of Finland in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace and inspected the guard of honor to the music of the Finnish military march.
The audience gathered near the Presidential Palace greeted Zelenskyy with a standing ovation.
The video of the reception ceremony was published on the Facebook page of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
It is reported that Zelenskyy will first hold a bilateral meeting with the President of Finland Sauli Niinisto, after which the President of Ukraine will also meet Prime Minister Sanna Marin and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto as part of an official lunch.
After that, in the afternoon, together with Niinisto, Zelenskyy will take part in the meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Nordic countries. The meeting will take place in the Presidential Palace and will be devoted to support for Ukraine and other urgent security issues.
Zelenskyy's joint press conference with President Niinisto was announced earlier at approximately one o'clock in the afternoon. It did not happen. The publication assumed that it would be held later. And in the evening, Zelenskyy's press conference will be held together with the Prime Ministers of the Nordic countries.
During the war in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy left Ukraine only three times and visited the USA, Belgium, Poland, France and Great Britain. The previous meeting of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the President of Finland Niinisto took place in January as part of the Finnish President's visit to Kyiv.
Traffic in the center of Helsinki is blocked due to the arrival of a distinguished guest.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the day before in the evening video message, the President of Ukraine emphasized that May and the following months will be quite active for Ukraine in the international arena - there will be a lot of negotiation work, international events that will strengthen Ukraine's defense.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Finland on joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
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