Answers of Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs S. V. Lavrov to Mass Media Questions, Beijing, 6 June, 2012

Question: What are the results of the bilateral meetings of Russian President V. V. Putin in the framework of this state visit to the PRC?

S. V.Lavrov: The program of the bilateral state visit of Russian President V. V. Putin to the People`s Republic of China is over. V. V. Putin held a series of negotiations with Chairman of the PRC Hu Jintao, Premier of the State Council Wen Jiabao, Vice Chairman of the PRC Xi Jinping, Vice Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People`s Congress Wu Bangguo.

The visit established a new quality of the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership and interaction. Both parties expressed the highest appreciation of the achieved level of bilateral relations in all spheres without exception.

I believe that the main secret of such progressive steady development of the Russian-Chinese partnership is in the system approach. A regular political dialogue is conducted, and meetings at the top level in the line of the Premiers and Parliament Heads take place several times per year. All these introduce a required political keynote in practical projects of various spheres.

The economy is, for sure, one of the bearing supports of our cooperation. Energetics plays a special role in the bilateral economic relations. Today, the existence of specific plans and intentions for development of the energy interaction, including oil, gas and coal, atomic energetics and new renewable energy sources was confirmed.

Certain projects are being prepared for the regular Heads of Governments session, that will take place in Russia this autumn, and at which the documents for another summit, the date of which is yet to be agreed, will be approved.

Special attention was paid not only to the energy spheres of cooperation, but also high technologies with an accent for the necessity of their joint developments, in particular, in aircraft engineering, space and information and communication sphere.

The task has been set, and as I have already mentioned, a decisive event will become the autumn meeting of the Russian and Chinese Heads of Governments, at which the relevant branch department will report on the progress in the specified directions.

The two Ministers of Foreign Affairs were charged with a relevant task to provide an additional impetus to the interregional relation in the context of realization of the Cooperation Program between the Eastern Siberian and Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation and the North-Eastern China. President V. V. Putin noted today, that a special role in such plans will be assigned to the Minister for Development of Russian Far East to be established in Russia.

The importance of further deepening of the humanitarian cooperation was emphasized. It has become our good tradition to promote it with various events like "cross-years". First, there were Years of Russia in China and China in Russia, then the Year of the Russian language in China and the Year of the Chinese language in Russia, now it is the Year of the Russian tourism in China, and next year will be the Year of Chinese tourism in Russia. Such kind of agreements create a good framework for a creative approach and promotion of contacts between people, we believe it to be very important. Also the program of action for further deepening of the humanitarian cooperation for a ten-year period is prepared.

The sustainable military and technical cooperation was mentioned today, as well as cooperation between our military men. Following the land exercises of the Chinese and Russian armed forces that took place some time ago, the first in history naval exercises of our countries took place this year.

The leaders of the two states mentioned that the Russian and Chinese strategic partnership fully covers cooperation on the international arena. They discussed concurrence of our actions in the UN, "G-20", BRICS, SCO and in the Asian-Pacific Region, in which we will continue to promote the initiative, proposed by Russia and China for creation in the ASR of security architecture, based on equality of rights and other fundamental principles of the international law.

Further actions on various crisis situations have been agreed, which currently attract special attention in the world. They have agreed to further coordinate measures on the Middle East and North Africa agenda, including the situation in Syria and around it, on the Iran`s Nuclear Program agenda, the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula, Afghanistan and other current subjects. Both parties made a special emphasis that such cooperation is of extrinsic value not only because it facilitates the search of fair settlements of this or that certain crisis, but also because it is aimed at provision of supremacy of law in the international affairs and such world order that would be equitable, balanced, steady and multipolar.

Question: Were further Russian and Chinese military exercises discussed?

S. V. Lavrov: It was agreed to continue such practice.

Question: Was the Iran`s agenda discussed in the course of the accomplished meetings?

S. V. Lavrov: We agreed to act on Iran on the basis of approaches, advanced by the "5 plus 1" Group, of which Russia and China are members, including to get ready for the forthcoming regular meeting of the "Six" with Iranian representatives to take place in Moscow, on 18-19 June this year.

Question: Is there any progress on gas?

S. V. Lavrov: Tasks were given to prepare certain proposals for settlement of the relevant oil and gas issues by the regular Russian and Chinese Heads of Governments session this autumn.

Question: What are the Russian party`s expectations from the Moscow meeting of the "Six" on Iran, taking into consideration the relative failure of negotiations in Baghdad and Istanbul, as well as statements of the USA on their intention to strengthen the sanctions pressure on Tehran?

S. V. Lavrov: We are getting ready for the meeting in Moscow and wish to continue the constructive conversation. This meeting is important not only and not as much for the Russian part, as for the whole "5 plus 1" Group, Iran and the whole world community. Transfer of the situation from the negotiations track to the format of power and sanctions actions does not meet anybody`s interests.

We find additional sanctions to be counter-productive. The sanctions in relation to Iran have already been taken not only by the UN Security Council, but also unilaterally by separate states, which fact, in our opinion, undermines the collective actions. Russia opposes any further unilateral enforcement measures.

There are some certain proposals on the negotiating table. They are based on the proposed by Russia approach, based upon principles of phasing and mutuality. According to such an approach we expect Iran to take the first step, and just like "5 plus 1" Group and representatives of the world community will be ready to reciprocate and take appropriate steps towards Iran, first of all in relation to non-adoption of new sanctions and "freeze" and relaxation of the current sanctions. It is a general conceptual approach to the situation in prospect. It was approved by the "Six" and certain proposals were made to the Iranians on its basis. They will be considered at the meeting in Moscow.

I would not qualify previous meetings in Baghdad and Istanbul as unsuccessful, because we have achieved a lot – resumed the negotiation process, interrupted almost two years ago. We have reasons to believe that if we all approach in good faith such negotiations process and will not try to pursue our national, narrow and egoistic objectives that have nothing in common with the task of non-proliferation of nuclear arms, we will be able to agree on further meetings. Of course, the negotiations in Moscow cannot settle everything and in one go.

Question: What are Russian and Chinese approaches on the issue of the Syrian crisis settlement?

S. V. Lavrov: We confirmed our intention to coordinate our actions on Syria, and also that the main thing now is to implement K. Annan`s plan and the UN Security Council resolutions that approved such plan. We do not accept any attempts to present the situation as if such resolutions may not be already implemented, as the Syrian opposition have recently declared, represented by the "Free Syrian Army" and "Syrian National Council".

It is important to realize that the opposition is mixed, and there are various groups among the irreconcilable opposition. And the ones located in Syria are totally against any foreign interference, and the groups of oppositionists outside the Syrian Arab Republic more often encourage the world community to destroy Bashar al-Assad`s regime and change it. It is a hazardous way that will lead the region to a catastrophe.

I hope that those who patronize such oppositional groups realize it and will hold them from desperate calls. Russia believes that it is of principal importance to follow K. Annan`s plan and the UN SC resolutions, approving such plan. We believe it is necessary to call a meeting of the states that have an actual influence on various oppositional groups. There are not so many of them. Of course, I refer to the permanent UN SC members, leading countries of the region and Turkey. We should not forget Iran, the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. I believe the European Union could make its contribution too.

The aim of such meeting as distinct from the meetings of the "Friends of Syria Group" devoted to the only support of the "Syrian National Council" and its radical requirements, would be that all external players (at the first stage without the Syrians) agree to follow universally approved K. Annan`s plan in good faith and without double standards; everybody "attack" the appropriate Syrian parties, on which each of us have an influence and persuade them to stop any violence and sit down to negotiating table subject to the item of the mentioned plan on the necessity to start a political dialogue between the government and all oppositional Syrian groups.

We will move in such a direction. I do not know to what extent everybody will be ready for it, and whom it depends on. But Russia and China clearly realize that such step would be of principal importance at the current stage, when there are a lot of parties wishing to disrupt K. Annan`s plan by words and subversive actions.