PRESS RELEASE

Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid a brief working visit to the Russian Federation on October 23-24.

In the course of his talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, which passed in a spirit of constructive partnership, a number of international problems of mutual concern were discussed, including the situation in world financial markets and ways for their recovery, the issues of ensuring security in the Euro-Atlantic area, Russian relations with the European Union and NATO, the two countries' interaction within the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe, and the situation in the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East and in other regions of the world.

There was reaffirmed the similarity and in a number of cases the identity of positions on many of the themes discussed, along with the common vision of the substance and main trends of world development on the basis of multilateral approaches, with the UN playing a predominant role in the maintenance of peace and security and in the organization of counteraction against the new challenges and threats, including the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime.

In the course of the talks the key aspects of the current state of, and prospects for Russian-Luxembourg relations, including economic and trade ties, were examined.

The ministers noted with satisfaction that Russian-Luxembourg cooperation based on mutual respect and consideration of the interests of each other has been acquiring an ever more intensive and mutually advantageous character in recent years. A high appraisal of its level and positive dynamics was given.

The talks of the two ministers were preceded by Jean Asselborn's meeting with Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and with Andrei Klimov, Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee and head of the group of deputies for cooperation with the parliaments of the Benelux countries.

The sides emphasized the mutual keenness on continuing the various-vector and trustful political dialogue between Russia and Luxembourg and on expanding further Russian-Luxembourg partner trade-and-economic, scientific-technical and cultural ties.

October 24, 2008