Medvedev to Khanty-Mansiisk to attend Russia-EU summit

Moscow, June 26 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is
departing for Khanty-Mansiisk on Thursday to attend the 25th Russia-EU
summit. The main result of the event will be the official beginning of
talks on a new framework agreement between Russia and the European Union.

Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said that on Thursday
evening the Russian leader will receive the leadership of the European
Union at a working lunch in an informal atmosphere and the main meeting
will be held on Friday. The sides are expected to make a statement on the
launch of the negotiating process by its results.

"During the summit the sides will give an official start to the talks
on a new framework agreement that is called upon to replace the existing
Russia-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA)," the official noted.

"It is conceived concise, without excessive specification, but legally
binding, politically weighty and oriented towards the future. The
framework agreement should envisage a planned development of the system of
sectoral agreements that could ensure the necessary flexibility of
industrial interaction of Russia and the EU on the whole," the aide to the
head of state explained.

Another Kremlin representative noted that it will take roughly a year
to prepare the new agreement. "The document is unlikely to be ready by the
next summit that will be held in France in autumn," he said. The official
also stressed that the pace of the work considerably depends not on the
Russia side, but on the EU.

According to him, the term of validity of the new agreement has also
not been determined. "I think it will be at least five years," the Kremlin
official supposed.

According to a EU press release of Wednesday, This year's EU-Russia
Summit, the first with President Dmitry Medvedev, will take place in
Khanty-Mansiisk, Siberia, on 26 and 27 June. One of the centrepieces of
this Summit will be the official launch of negotiations on the new
agreement with Russia. This new agreement presents an opportunity to
update the legal framework underpinning the EU-Russia relationship, to
reflect the substantial changes that both Russia and the EU have undergone
since concluding the first Partnership Cooperation Agreement in the early
1990s.

It also said that as an important global player, Russia is a vital
partner for the EU in addressing global challenges and therefore topics
such as Food Security, Energy Security, Climate Change, as well as the
development of the world economy, are high on the agenda. Foreign policy
issues will also be discussed during the Summit, such as the Middle East,
Afghanistan, Iran, Ukraine, Georgia and the Common neighbourhood.
Participants from the side of the Commission will be the President of the
European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso and Commissioners Benita
Ferrero-Waldner (External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy) and
Peter Mandelson (Trade).

According to the press release, prior to the Summit, President of the
European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, said: "I look forward to
this Summit with President Medvedev, as it comes at a crucial moment for
both Russia and the EU. Our economies are increasingly interdependent. The
negotiation of a New Agreement provides a good opportunity to develop the
potential of our strategic partnership."