Finnish President spoke with Putin about NATO membership

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday regarding the Nordic country's application for NATO membership, which is expected to be announced this weekend, his office said.

"The conversation was direct and straight-forward and it was conducted without aggravations. Avoiding tensions was considered important," Niinisto was quoted as saying in a statement by his office.

"The phone call was initiated by Finland," the statement mentioned.