Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President,

I’m glad to have the opportunity of meeting you. You called me literally 12 hours after my election as President, and these things are never forgotten.

Our contacts in trade, the economy, and the cultural sphere are making steady headway. Now we have finally approached the discussion of a new agreement on Russia-EU relations. We are hoping that during your French presidency we will move on in preparing the relevant documents and start working on the basis of the new agreement.

But there are numerous challenges, which we should consider together, including those which have brought us to the G8 summit. I am prepared to discuss all these issues.

Nicolas Sarkozy (as retranslated from Russian): I am very glad to meet you for the first time, Mr President.

France wants to have a relationship of trust with Russia. I will do all I can for Russia and the EU to develop the most productive partnership during the October summit.

Russia is selling 80% of its energy to Europe. We need Russia’s energy resources. We are neighbours and we share many values. The interests of international stability require that Russia should find a befitting place in the world, in particular, have its say on the Iranian problem, and on Darfur. We need Russia, which is doing very much to promote peace and confidence all over the world.

Dmitry Medvedev: We have started working to this end. Literally several hours ago, we were actively working on one of these problems.