Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a telephone conversation with his Finnish counterpart Tarja Halonen on Monday to discuss a schedule of contacts for 2010 when the two countries mark the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

During the conversation, Medvedev and Halonen agreed that the next year would be not less intensive than the outgoing year.

According to the Kremlin press service, the heads of state wished each other a happy and prosperity to the peoples of Russia and Finland.

“The presidents discussed key results of the outgoing year. They noted that 2009 was a very intensive year, which gave a powerful impetus to the development of Russian-Finnish relations in all fields,” the press service reported.

The celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the Finnish autonomy within the Russian empire was one of the clearest events of the year 2009. “The parties noted that all events had been organised in big respect to the historical heritage of the peoples for the benefit of relations between Russia and Finland. The development of trade and economic cooperation, including on the most important Nord Stream gas pipeline project deserves high praise,” the Kremlin press service said.