Niinistö and Macron stressed the importance of dialogue with Russia on security issues

“Both stressed the importance of dialogue with Russia.

It is extremely important that the European voice is clearly heard during the discussions, ”the Office of the President of Finland said in a statement.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that any expansion of NATO worries Russia.

Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the expansion of the alliance artificial and stated NATO's attempts to "lure" Ukraine to itself.