Guatemala president to visit Russia in March.

GUATEMALA CITY, February 16 (Itar-Tass) - Guatemalan President Alvaro
Colom Caballeros will visit Russia in March 2010, Russian and Guatemalan
Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Aroldo Rodas announced here on Monday
at the close of their meeting.

The Russian Minister pointed out, "We discussed the Guatemalan
President's forthcoming visit to Russia".
Rodas, for his part, thanked the Russian leadership on behalf of the
President for the invitation. "I want to reaffirm the importance that our
government attaches to the (upcoming) visit," he emphasized.

.Medvedev to meet Papandreou to discuss econ issues.

MOSCOW, February 16 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is
planning to meet with Georgios Papandreou, Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, here on Tuesday.
A Kremlin high official has told Itar-Tass that the upcoming talks
will deal with the development of political dialogue and
trade-and-economic cooperation between the two countries.
The official said, "Special attention will be devoted to matters
concerning trade-and-economic cooperation". He believes that
"Notwithstanding the trade turnover marked decrease caused by the global
financial downturn (in 2009, this indicator, according to preliminary
data, was $2,400 million), there are good prospects for an intensification
of mutually beneficial partnership between Russia ad Greece". Russia and
Greece currently participate in the construction of the South Stream gas
pipeline and the trans-Balkan oil pipeline Burgas-Alexandroupolis.
To Greece, which experiences an unprecedented financial downturn, the
economy at the present moment is problem number one. State deficit in that
country towards the end of 2009 accounted for almost 13 percent, which was
three times as much as had been planned.
Early this month Papandreou announced the introduction of austerity
measures. The European Union (EU) and other countries are worried lest
Greece problems should have a negative effect on the entire Euro Area,
right up to collapse of that currency.
Nevertheless the Greek Premier, while in Russia, is to discuss not
only economic subjects. A Russian presidential administration official
also said, "Medvedev and Papandreou will discuss the state of cultural and
humanitarian contacts". "Progressive dynamism has been traditionally
characteristic of this area (of cooperation): an active dialogue is being
maintained through civil societies, and inter-church contacts develop,"
the Kremlin official explained.
It is also planned to touch upon the set of international problems,
including the course of discussion on the Russian initiative aimed at
working out a European Security Treaty, Russia-EU and Russia-NATO
relations, and subjects concerning a settlement of a number of regional
conflicts.
Papandreou arrives in Moscow at the invitation of Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin. "This will be Papandeou's first trip to Russia as the
Greek head of the government, formed after aw in at the early
parliamentary elections in October 2009 by the Panhellenic Socialist
Movement party," the Kremlin official recalled.
The official said, "At the forthcoming meeting the sides are to
consider topical aspects of the development of the political dialogue,
based on the Joint declaration, dated December 9, 2004, on a further
deepening of the relations of friendship and all-round interaction between
the Russian Federation and the Hellenic Republic, and the Joint Action
Plan for 2010-2012".

.RF, Guatemala sign agreement to fight drug trafficking.

GUATEMALA CITY, February 16 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and Guatemala on
Monday signed an Agreement on combating the trafficking of narcotics.
Signatures to the document were put by the Foreign Ministers of the two
countries, Sergei Lavrov and Aroldo Rodas.
The Russian Minister emphasized, "This document envisions the broadest
possibilities for interaction. This concerns exchanges of information, the
training of personnel, the conduct of joint operations, and deliveries of
special-purpose equipment which is necessary for anti-narcotics
operations".
The Guatemalan Minister stressed, for his part, that the Agreement
lays the foundations for the two countries' cooperation in this respect.
"We would like to study each other's experience. Our country has gained
experience of cooperation with the United States and Mexico on the
problem," Rodas said.
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