Official website of the President of Russia

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The President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Dear Mr Barroso, colleagues.

I would like to welcome you to Moscow and express my hope that the renewal of regular cooperation between the Government of the Russian Federation and the European Commission will prove productive and that it will serve as good preparation for the Russia-EU summit which will take place this May. We will discuss both the final organisation of the summit and current affairs.

In my opinion there are currently several issues that have great significance for our countries: for Russia, for Europe, and for the member states of the European Union. I will name these issues, and I think that in all cases we can start discussions, which you will subsequently continue with the Government. I also have in mind, of course, the bilateral relationship between the Russian Federation and the European Union.

Issues relating to overcoming the consequences of the global financial crisis are, of course, very important. We are all working very actively on this at the moment, in individual states as well as on the EU level, and also in preparation for the forum of leading economies, the G-20 forum, that will take place in London.

There are other very important matters that we should discuss, specifically, issues relating to energy security. The recent gas crisis showed that not everything is satisfactory in this regard and that it is a very delicate situation. And however much we can speculate about how these problems ought to be resolved on a bilateral level, or should be resolved by those countries who are involved in the conflict, unfortunately, the interests of third parties suffer because of it. And given that that is the case, we need to think about how we can create a fully-fledged international regulatory system to protect against such incidents, because the current system is not working, and here I am also referring to the existing Energy Charter.

There are issues linked to the current agenda. There are matters that we always discuss, such as the issue of climate change. I think that our colleagues will also have something to say about that, and of course we need to think about our next steps in ensuring security on the continent of Europe. We have made our suggestions. These suggestions are now being considered by the European states. I think that we could talk also about this, since this remains wholly relevant for each of our countries.

I would like to welcome you all once more to Moscow, and to express my hope that our work is productive and fruitful in preparation for the major summit between Russia and the European Union.

Mr President, if you please…

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso (translated from Russian): Many thanks, Mister President.

Dear members of the Russian delegation, many thanks for this opportunity. We have indeed come here for a bilateral meeting between the European Commission and the Russian Government. We have very important matters to discuss. We think that the meetings, which are held in addition to the regular Russia-EU summit to be carried out this year, are very important.

Regarding recent events, when we last spoke on the phone we tried to resolve the crisis which really should not have occurred, I appreciated your personal participation in the resolution of this problem. Now it is very important to create the conditions necessary so that such crises are, in future, not repeated. We think that energy security is an extremely important question for Russia and the European Union. We think, and we have spoken about this on more than one occasion, that it is vital we enhance our relationship and strengthen positive interdependence in the energy sector. This positive interdependence is very important now, as you said, when we are confronted by a global crisis. We all have an interest in this, Russia, the European Commission, and major partners. And we think that we cannot overcome the negative consequences of the crisis, of the financial crisis, which was the first of such magnitude in the history of globalisation, without vigorous global coordination.

There are, of course, other global problems, such as, for example, climate change. We have taken into account the feedback relating to the Russian side's willingness to make a positive contribution to overcoming the consequences of climate change. A very important conference will take place in Copenhagen at the end of the year. We will work with Russia to make this event a success, since it is important for the future of all life, for the future generations on our planet. After all, we all live on one planet.

Regarding our bilateral relations, we are currently working on a future agreement between Russia and the EU. The commission received a clear mandate from the 27 member states of the EU, and of course we are committed to serious, deep discussions, in order to successfully conclude this work. We think that it is an extremely important moment.

In order to deepen our relationship in all spheres, not just in matters of economy and trade, but as a whole within the framework of political dialogue it is important to work on the basis of those values that Russia and the EU espouse. This is the reason that we, nine members of the Commission, have come here. Generally it is quite a rare event, for such a representative delegation of the Commission to leave its headquarters. And it is highly indicative of how, in many areas, the interests of Russia and the EU are truly interdependent. This is the attitude we are hoping to work with, and we hope for success in our work with you, and we are looking forward to our future meetings.

Many thanks for this hospitable welcome.