GEORGY MAMEDOV, DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER AND RUSSIAN G8 POLITICAL DIRECTOR, MEETS WITH US AMBASSADOR TO MOSCOW ALEXANDER VERSHBOW

Unofficial translation from Russian

PRESS RELEASE

On May 19 Georgy Mamedov, Deputy Foreign Minister and Russian Federation G8 Political Director, received US Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Vershbow.

The sides thoroughly discussed the results of the visit paid to Russia on May 14-15 by US Secretary of State Colin Powell as part of the preparations for the meeting of the Russian and US presidents during the St. Petersburg anniversary celebrations, as well as of the previous G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in Paris on May 22-23.

The two sides both noted that the talks in Moscow with Powell had been constructive and productive, which was confirmed by the telephone conversation that took place on May 16 between Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush. Mutual confidence was expressed that the summit meeting in St. Petersburg would pass successfully and bear out the strength of the fundamental bases of the Russian-American partnership.

Mamedov and Vershbow touched also on Iraqi settlement issues in terms of the movement that has begun towards consensus on the draft of the appropriate resolution in the UN Security Council. They also considered the theme of strategic stability, including the question of the exchange of the instruments of ratification of the Russian-American Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty after the completion of the ratification procedure in the Russian Federation, along with the question of creating a legal basis for cooperation in the area of missile defense. The interlocutors devoted special attention to the bilateral economic and, above all, energy dialogue.

May 19, 2003