Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Chizhov Meets with European Parliament Deputies

Unofficial translation from Russian

PRESS RELEASE

A meeting took place in Moscow on April 19 between Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Vladimir Chizhov and a group of deputies of the European Parliament participating in the work of the Russia-EU Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC), led by the head of the European Parliament delegation in the PPC, Kamiel Erlings.

Questions relating to the preparations for the Russia-EU Moscow Summit on May 10, 2005, the progress in the work on the joint action plans for the four common spaces: economic space; space for freedom, security and justice; space for co-operation on external security; and space for research, education and culture, and the prospects for further engagement between the parliamentarians of Russia and the European Union were discussed.

Substantial attention was devoted to the implementation of the Russia-EU Joint Statement of April 27, 2004, including the problems of the observance of the rights of the Russian-speaking minorities in Latvia and Estonia and of ensuring the functioning of the Kaliningrad Region in the context of the EU enlargement.

Chizhov answered the questions of European Parliament deputies, including those on themes of engagement by Russia and the EU with third states and of improvement of the juridical base of relations between Russia and the European Union.

April 20, 2005