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The two leaders had a detailed telephone discussion on the situation in Afghanistan. President Putin and Prime Minister Verhofstadt exchanged opinions on the Middle East crisis, and on a few important issues related to bilateral ties, which had advanced substantially over the past 12 months.

The two leaders touched upon the scope of problems linked to the further expansion of Russia-EU relations. The Russian President recognised Belgium’s valuable contribution to their development during its presidency of the European Union from July until December 2001.