Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with Russian Ambassadors in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 30, 2016. Putin said that Russia will respond to NATO's military buildup near its borders, but will not be drawn into an arms race. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, pool) (The Associated Press)
HELSINKI – Russian President Vladimir Putin is slated to arrive in neighboring Finland for a one-day visit amid heightened tensions in the Baltic Sea region.
Putin is to meet Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Friday at his summer residence in southwestern Finland, a country that shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia.
Russia has increased military activity in Eastern Europe, with reports of airspace violations to which NATO has responded with a reinforced presence.
The visit comes a week before a NATO summit which will have security in the Baltic Sea region high on its agenda. Putin warned Thursday Russia would take retaliatory measures to counter NATO's military buildup near Russia's borders.
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