US, Russia military chiefs to meet in Finland

COPENHAGEN – The Finnish Defence Forces says a top U.S. military chief will meet his Russian counterpart in Helsinki to discuss “current issues between the countries.”

The Finnish military says the meeting Friday of Gen. Joseph Dunford, current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Russia’s chief of the military’s General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, “takes place on the initiative of both countries.”

In Thursday’s statement, the Finns said they also will meet separately with Finland’s president and the Nordic country’s military chief. The Finns will not take part in the U.S.-Russia meeting.

In April, NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, met with Gerasimov in Baku for the first such encounter since relations between Moscow and the alliance sank to post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis.