Question: For what purposes was the Russo-French Council for Co-operation on Security Issues set up?

Yakovenko: The Council was set up to facilitate the expansion of Russo-French interaction with regard to international security issues. Within its framework, opinions are exchanged to analyse existing risks and threats in the world, and common approaches and decisions in the event of possible joint or coordinated actions on the part of the two states, are defined.

Council sessions with the participation of the two countries' foreign and defence ministers will be held every year, rotating between Moscow and Paris.

As is known, the Council was set up on the basis of a decision taken by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of France Jacques Chirac in January 2002. A Joint Declaration was signed by the French and Russian foreign ministers on July 8th, 2002 on the creation of the Council, which defined the order of its work.

Question: What will be on the agenda at the first session of the Council scheduled for November 15th in Paris?

Yakovenko: Particular attention will be paid to the task of developing co-operation in the fight against international terrorism, the urgency of which was proved again by the tragic events in Moscow on October 23rd-26th.

There are also plans to discuss key problems in international and regional security, the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, issues of interaction within Russia-EU and Russia-Nato relations.

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov will take part in the session.