Medvedev to leave for the Russia-EU summit.

MOSCOW, November 17 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
will begin his first trip to Stockholm on Tuesday.

He will take part in
the Russia-EU summit on Wednesday. The Russian president will also have
time to pay a working visit to Sweden during which he will meet King Carl
XVI Gustav and hold talks with the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik
Reinfeldt.
The Russia-EU summits are traditionally held twice a year: in Russia
in spring and in a country, which is holding the EU rotating presidency,
in autumn. In May, the high-level meeting was held in Khabarovsk, the
easternmost point in the European space. The EU leaders had spent eleven
hours on plane and had changed several time zones before they reached
Khabarovsk.
This time the venue is going to be less exotic. A political climate
has also become warmer ahead of the summit. "We note pragmatism and
persistence which allow holding effective and productive bilateral talks
and the summit," presidential aide Serge Prikhodko told reporters.
On November 5, after a period of meditation, the Swedish government
approved the construction of the North Stream pipeline that will start
pumping gas from Russia to Europe by 2011.
These days the European Union is living through a turning point. The
Lisbon Treaty - the European Union's fundamental document, is taking
effect on December 1. This will be a simplified Constitution under which
the United Europe will get its first president. Candidates to this post
will be discussed at the EU summit in Brussels on November 19.
"This process (the entrance in force of the Lisbon Treaty) will give
answers to some structural problems," Prikhodko went on to say.
"Upon the completion of the Lisbon Treaty it will be possible to write
down clearer mechanisms of cooperation (between Moscow and Brussels),"
Prikhodko went on to say.
He admitted that the talks would be more difficult for Russia in many
ways. "But we are positive about it because that will allow us to conduct
a more predictable dialogue and will make it possible to avoid
politicizing minor technical issues," Prikhodko emphasized. He noted that
the European Union was not an easy partner for the United States, China or
Japan.
The Russian president has stressed it many times that Moscow favors
broad cooperation with the European Union.
The forthcoming summit will be attended by Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev, the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Javier
Solana, the EU High Commissioner for External and Security Policy, and
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
Prikhodko said that the Russian president would start his visit to
Stockholm with an informal dinner with the Swedish prime minister. The
official talks will be held the next day. They will be followed by the
Russia-EU summit after which a news conference will be held. Russian and
EU leaders will also meet representatives of the European and Russian
business. An audience with King Carl Gustav of Sweden will wrap up
Medvedev's visit.

.Russia & US stress importance of cooperation on Afghanistan.

MOSCOW, November 17 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergei Ryabkov and U.S. president's special envoy for Afghanistan and
Pakistan Richard Holbrooke have stressed the importance of exerting
persistent efforts to build up Russian-American cooperation in Afghanistan
and implement a joint statement on Afghanistan made by the Russian and
U.S. presidents on July 6, 2009 as well as the inter-governmental transit
agreement, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Monday.
"An exchange of opinion on the current situation in Afghanistan was
held with account taken of presidential elections as well as the
international community's priority tasks in helping this country," the
Russian Foreign Ministry said.

.Russian national exhibition to open in Chicago.

WASHINGTON, November 17 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian national exhibition
timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States is opening in
Chicago on Tuesday. Its organizer is the Russian Ministry of Industry and
Commerce.
The exhibition's aim is to further strengthen and develop bilateral
trade and economic ties, expand and create new forms of cooperation in
energy, machine-building, metallurgy, agriculture, public health and
tourism. Special attention will be paid to education from the point of
view of creating conditions for integration of scientific and educational
programs, expanding exchanges with students and young scientists.
A considerable part of the exhibition is devoted to innovations:
presentations of projects and developments in the field of economy and the
improvement of innovative infrastructure.
Representatives of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, the
Federal Agency for Science and Innovations, the Russian Academy of
Sciences, science cities and industrial estates, members of research
institutes as well as private investors took part in designing the
innovative part of the exposition.
A business forum will also be held with an aim to improve and develop
Russian-American relations in the sphere of business, science, education,
culture and civil society.

-0-fil/