Unofficial translation from Russian

PRESS RELEASE

On September 21, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov met in New York with Petros Moliviatis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, on the fringes of the 59th session of the UN General Assembly.

Moliviatis extended the deeply-felt condolences of the Greek side over the terrorist act in Beslan.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the way the bilateral political dialogue is evolving. On most key international issues, the two countries' positions coincide or are very close.

Lavrov said that we regard Greece as an important partner of Russia on the European continent, and especially in the region of Southeast Europe. We are disposed to build up the exchange of views with the Greek leadership on pressing international problems and on questions of bilateral cooperation.

We expect the upcoming visit this December to Russia of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to be a significant event in the history of our bilateral relations.

The heads of the foreign affairs agencies spoke for, among other things, intensifying cooperation in the area of the struggle against international terrorism, and exchanged views on questions of a bilateral character.

The sides attach great importance to developing Russian-Greek trade-and-economic ties. It was noted with satisfaction that recently, thanks to joint efforts, progress has been made towards solving a number of economic issues in bilateral cooperation. The ministers also examined the state of affairs in carrying out the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project.

Lavrov and Moliviatis also discussed a number of aspects concerning Cyprus settlement. The Russian side reaffirmed its basic commitment to assist comprehensively the search for a peaceful solution to the Cyprus problem, based on voluntary agreement of the sides and the appropriate UN Security Council resolutions.

September 22, 2004