Thursday 19 October 2006
Russian president Vladimir Putin may have a rather uncomfortable dinner with EU leaders in Finland on Friday. Since the booking was made in Lahti, there has been a dispute over Shell’s operations in Sakhalin and a spate of apparently politically-motivated murders, culminating in the shooting of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Finnish president Tarja Halonen, who invited her Russian counterpart, may be too polite to mention it. But Putin will not be able to avoid Politkovskaya. The Liberal group in the European parliament have paid to put an open letter in two Russian papers today, including Novaya Gazeta, where she worked. It will also appear in the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat on Friday.