Presidents Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Vladimir Putin had an informal meeting in St. Petersburg

Presidents Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Vladimir Putin had an informal meeting in St. Petersburg on 31 May during the EU-Russia summit They agreed that relations between their countries should become closer. Vike-Freiberga also held informal talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov as well as Kazakh and Finnish Presidents Nursultan Nazarbaev and Tarja Halonen. In her speech at the summit, she said that EU expansion will bring better cooperation between the EU and Russia. She noted that discussion about a visa-free regime between the EU and Russia can begin only after major improvements are made in border procedures for both people and goods and after the conclusion and ratification of a border treaty with all EU countries, including Latvia.