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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Dear ladies and gentlemen!

We had dense and substantive negotiations with the President of Nicaragua, Comrade Daniel Ortega. Their main outcomes are reflected in the joint declaration we just signed and I hope that after the visit we will be able to conclude that Russian-Nicaraguan cooperation is growing much more actively and dynamically, and that we are achieving new and positive results.

I am confident that these outcomes are directly harmonious with the interests of our people, with the interests of the people of Nicaragua. They strengthen security not only in the region, but security in the world at large.

We have discussed one issue with President Ortega in some detail and believe that the new constellation of international relations will be based on multipolarity and interdependence, and that the related steps taken by our country are designed to create this kind of more stable and more secure world.

In this regard I would like our Nicaraguan partners to know (I already said this today to President Ortega) that our presence in Latin America and our good relations with key partners there, which no doubt include Nicaragua, is not something temporary, but rather represents a conscious choice. And we will develop these relations in all areas.

Of course during the negotiations we paid priority attention to traditional issues such as trade and economic cooperation, cooperation in the cultural and educational spheres, including education, and the prospects for the development of large projects.

Unfortunately, in recent years trade turnover between our countries has dwindled. And in the previous Soviet era, when our partners worked on this 20 years ago, trade was measured in significant figures (in hundreds of millions of dollars). Now, of course these figures are more modest. Our task is to use past experience to create a new basis on which to develop this kind of trade relations.

We discussed a variety of projects. In both private talks and with delegations we discussed infrastructure projects, interesting projects related to the reconstruction of a number of installations in Nicaragua; we discussed the development of energy projects, projects in agriculture (we just signed a memorandum on the subject) and cooperation in high-tech (where we also signed several memorandums). I think that these are all interesting areas and particularly those related to space exploration, cooperation in high-tech, the use of the Russian GLONASS satellite system, and cooperation in education.

We discussed another very ambitious, interesting and large issue. This is a project to establish an interoceanic canal and to do so, of course, on an international legal basis, with the involvement of various parties. Our Nicaraguan partners have expressed their interest in involving Russia and several other states in the development of the project. I think that this kind of project will help promote safety and security in the Caribbean, and more broadly in Latin America and the world. We are examining this project with interest.

Of course our challenge today, following these negotiations, is to move on to real business immediately. I think that for this reason we should support the idea of resuming the work of the Intergovernmental Commission, which exists but has not met very often in recent years, and perhaps make it more substantial. We have taken steps in this direction. Our representatives were in Nicaragua not long ago. Now a high-level delegation from Nicaragua is visiting our country. So I think we will be able to unfreeze this organisational forum for cooperation.

We are also hoping to move forward in cultural and educational cooperation, on cooperation on these issues. Even relatively recently we engaged in very extensive cooperation in the field of education. I think that this is very promising. We produced more than five thousand graduates as a result of Soviet-Nicaraguan and Russian-Nicaraguan cooperation in this area. They work and live in Nicaragua and other countries. I consider that is what binds and strengthens our friendship, and should absolutely receive our full support. I think that given current conditions we can consider various ways to support this kind of project for Nicaragua.

We discussed issues concerning international cooperation, international interaction with my colleague, Comrade Daniel Ortega. On this occasion I would like to thank our partners for Nicaragua’s position on the recognition of the legal personalities of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This decision will certainly contribute to the strengthening of international law in the world. We appreciate this and believe it reflects our countries' close views on the development of international relations and the development of the international situation in general.

Of course the world must evolve, and today we talked about how to promote structures and institutions that foster peace. Obviously I am referring to regional structures. Not long ago during a visit to Latin America I met with the participants in one forum of Latin American states, ALBA [Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas], and there are other forums too.

In any case it seems to me that developing this kind of contacts between the Russian Federation and regional structures is useful. Not to mention that we need to do our utmost to strengthen the authority of the United Nations, currently the only arena which might be worthy to represent the interests of all nations. Incidentally, the representative from Nicaragua is currently addressing these issues in the General Assembly.

In sum, I would like to say once again that the Russian side is satisfied with the outcome of negotiations with our Nicaraguan partners. I would like to express my gratitude to all the parties who participated in the preparation of this visit, in preparing documents, and I think that today we have turned a new page in the development of Russian-Nicaraguan relations; Nicaragua is a key strategic partner in Latin America for Russia.

President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega (translated from Russian): Thank you dear brother, Comrade President Dmitry Medvedev!

This is good news for Nicaragua, for our people, and this news came to us from Moscow. We are now in Moscow and would like to say to our people, to Nicaraguans, that the Russian people and Russian government are willing to strengthen relations with Nicaragua in the interests of the progress and prosperity of our people, so that Nicaragua can break out of a cycle of poverty and hunger.

We already talked with President Dmitry Medvedev about numerous issues and, above all, we referred to the documents that we signed (there are many). We signed them here today in Moscow. These are meaningful and relevant agreements. They are of great importance for the development of our peoples and of great significance for peace and stability.

We are now living through critical moments in the life of our planet. There are, of course, negative aspects – these are always present – but we are now seeing the positive ones: Russian relations with Latin America are now being established in a new international context.

And this is the best proof that although unipolar policies still exist, there are nevertheless other approaches as well. We cannot yet say that unipolarity has been phased out, but every day the world is becoming increasingly multipolar. And President Medvedev’s visit to Latin America, his meetings with the presidents of countries that belong to ALBA — all this constitutes the best proof that we are now experiencing a new era in international relations, and a new era in relations between Russia and Latin America. Never before in the history of the former Soviet Union and Russia were we able to create such optimal, favourable and extremely positive conditions as the present ones.

During the Soviet Union there were two countries that maintained a very positive relationship with the Soviet Union and then with Russia – they are Cuba and Nicaragua. And it is thanks to the willingness of the people and government of Russia, as well as President Dmitry Medvedev personally, that the desire of Latin American countries, peoples, and their governments for the self-determination and sovereignty of our countries, their integration and the unity of our peoples has been transformed into reality. And now we are closer than ever. Relations between the peoples of Latin America and the people and government of Russia are as close as possible.

I would like to thank the government and people of Russia for the support and humanitarian assistance they have already sent to Nicaragua. And I would like to thank President Dmitry Medvedev personally for this support. The provision of humanitarian assistance is very good news for the people of Nicaragua. This includes medical supplies and means of transportation. Other assistance includes scholarships for Nicaraguans who will once again be able to come here and get an education, in the Russian Federation. And we cannot forget about the large number of projects that we have worked on quite actively. They should move forward quite quickly and this is evidence of our desire to develop relations that are not subject to short-term circumstances, but rather future-oriented, broad and active relations between our peoples and governments.

In view of our multipolar, not unipolar, world (and multipolarity, as I already said, is the reality in which we live), today it is more necessary then ever to promote the democratization of the United Nations. And here our position fully coincides with that of the President of Russia and with Russia. We must put this initiative to the international community and we must do so without delay, in order to make the UN conform to new international realities.

I would like to express our willingness to continue to work for peace, as well as to continue to build relationships with small nations, to support them when they become the victims of policies designed to suppress them – here I am talking about Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In light of this crisis, we did not hesitate for a moment before expressing our solidarity with these people, our support for the government and people of Russia, and support for Russia’s actions, its reaction to the attack on these countries.

We acknowledged the independence and sovereignty of those two nations without delay and without any doubt or hesitation. With regards to the government and people of South Ossetia, the government and people of Abkhazia, while in Moscow I want to send them our greetings and assurances of our solidarity and friendship. I am sure that in the near future we will visit these two brotherly countries, fraternal ones for our people and government.

Thank you, dear President Dmitry Medvedev, for your solidarity and support, which are designed to improve relations between Latin America and Russia, and particularly between the Russian Federation and the people and government of Nicaragua.