Putin in Finland on Nord Stream talks

HELSINKI, Finland, June 3 (UPI) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived Wednesday in Finland to lobby for the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea, Moscow said.

Putin met with Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen to push the $8.5 billion project through the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea to Germany, RIA Novosti reports.

"Practical issues to promote the project to build the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which is designed to improve Europe's energy security, will be discussed at the talks," a Russian government spokesman said.

Several littoral states, including Finland, have expressed concerns over the environmental impact of the construction of the pipeline, which is complicated by World War II munitions littered along the Baltic Sea floor.

Russia hopes to secure backing for the route to transport natural gas around politically sensitive transport nations like Ukraine, though concerns from the Baltic states have delayed the project.

Russia meets Finland's entire gas demand and roughly 70 percent of its crude oil supplies.

An environmental impact assessment on Nord Stream is expected by the end of this year.