Unofficial translation from Russian

PRESS RELEASE

On April 26-27, two rounds of talks between Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and FRG Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier took place in Tomsk on the fringes of the 8th round of Russian-German interstate consultations at the highest level involving government members, held under the chairmanship of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Federal Chancellor of the FRG Angela Merkel.

The ministers approved and presented to the Russian and German leaders during the plenary meeting of the summit a report of the bilateral interagency High Level Security Working Group defining the priorities of the two countries' cooperation in the struggle against international terrorism, illegal drug trafficking and organized crime, on the disarmament and WMD nonproliferation front and on a set of strategic and military-political issues.

In the traditional atmosphere of openness, trust and mutual understanding, certain practical issues in bilateral relations and topical international themes were discussed with the emphasis on the priorities of Russia's presidency of the G8 and chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The sides compared notes on specific aspects of the Russia-Germany engagement in the UN, of the preparation for an upcoming Russia-European Union summit in May and of a G8 meeting at the highest level in St. Petersburg and of cooperation in the Russia-NATO Council, in the OSCE and in other multilateral formats.

Special attention was paid to agreeing positions on Iran's nuclear file with the emphasis on there being no alternative to continuing efforts for a politico-diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem in order to accomplish the main task of ensuring the nuclear nonproliferation regime. In this context the importance for strengthening the NPT regime was affirmed of the Russian President's initiative for creating international centers for the provision of nuclear cycle services under IAEA control.

A thorough exchange of views took place on topical questions of international peacekeeping, including the need for tension de-escalation in Iraq and in Middle East settlement, stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and the negotiation process on the status of Kosovo.

The sides also emphasized their keenness on a balanced, well-considered perception of the political processes taking place in the CIS area with respect for the interests of the Commonwealth countries themselves and with regard for the realities of the transitional period in the development of this region.

The ministers resolved on resuming activities under the Russian and German Foreign Ministries' aegis of the Mixed Commission on Cultural Cooperation and on completing promptly the formalization of a package of agreements on the equipment of Russian overseas agencies in Germany and of German in Russia. Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed that the FRG consulates general in Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg would soon begin issuing Schengen visas to inhabitants of the region.

April 27, 2006