ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russian, Swedish and Finnish leaders inaugurated a wastewater treatment plant in St. Petersburg on Thursday in the latest effort to cut back on pollutants flowing into the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Tarja Halonen of Finland were joined by Swedish Premier Goran Persson at the euro174 million (US$213 million) Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant, which officials say will treat up to 85 percent of St. Petersburg's effluent using ultraviolet light.

Putin pledged further cooperation in large international environmental projects after the regional governor, Valentina Matviyenko, ceremonially turned on the sluices at the facility.

"We have made an important step in improving the life of people living in St. Petersburg and the Baltic region," he said, pointing out that the region is home to 50 million people.

"The result of this work demonstrates that we can be very efficient in our common work," Putin said.

"It is natural that our concern for the Baltic, too, is common. The coastal states have cooperated for decades in order to improve the condition of the Baltic, and great advances have been made," Halonen said, saying the treatment plant was one of those advances.

"The success we feel today should also serve as a strong incentive for continuation of environmental work. The Baltic Sea is still very polluted," Halonen said.

Authorities say the project, which also includes a facility for burning solid waste left over from the treatment, should significantly cut back on phosphorus, nitrogen and other organic pollutants that clog the Gulf of Finland and leach into the wider Baltic Sea.

Construction of the facility started in 1987 but was halted eight years later due to financing problems. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Nordic Investment Bank were among the chief creditors for the project.

Environmental groups says some fish caught in certain areas of the Baltic Sea exceed European Union limits on toxins. The low-saline, brackish water is highly sensitive to pollution.

Much harm was done to the Baltic Sea during the last few years, with depleted reserves of cod and many beaches in the Baltic region becoming unusable, Persson said.

"We must solve the major environmental problems in our region. We owe this to our children and grandchildren," he said.

The three leaders were later expected to discuss Russian-European Union relations, a Kremlin official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with Kremlin practice.

Russia's economic ties with the EU are vibrant, with the bloc accounting for half of Russia's trade, but relations are frequently strained by EU criticism of Russia's human rights record and prickly bilateral ties among the new EU members that border Russia.

Earlier, Halonen attended opening ceremonies for a euro73 million (US$90 million) Nokian Tyres PLC manufacturing plant that plans to make 4 million tires a year by 2008. Investments at two factories on the site will total some euro150 million (US$185 million), the company said.

Source: Associated Press