The cables reveal that Halonen has not shied away from raising difficult questions in bilateral meetings. The leaked documents contain information about several meetings that were held behind closed doors. For instance at the Lahti EU heads of government summit in 2006, energy issues were on the agenda, but tempers flared when Putin, who was the guest of honour at the summit, was asked about human rights issues.

Finnish government sources played down the discord, but were contradicted by several newspaper reports that said Baltic and Eastern European leaders had engaged in heated discussions about Russian policies.

One lighter moment revealed in the cables occurred at the start of Halonen's relationship with Putin. During her first meeting with the Russian leader after her election as Finnish President, Putin told Halonen that she was a "very dangerous woman", a particularly Russian compliment alluding to her beauty and intelligence.

Wikileaks Cables:

Subject: Putin in Lahti: Making Friends and Influencing People

Subject: Finland's Government: Turning a promising new tone into substance

Subject: Finnish President Halonen's June 7 meeting with Vladimir Putin

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