Putin to discuss ``pragmatic cooperation`` with Lithuania.

MOSCOW, March 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will
meet his Lithuanian counterpart Andrius Kubilius on Friday to discuss
"pragmatic cooperation", Russian government press service said.
"During the meeting it is planned to discuss a wide range of actual
issues of Russian-Lithuanian relations, prospects of their development on
a pragmatic basis," it said, adding the prime ministers will focus on
bilateral trade, energy, transport, investments, and cross-border trade.
Kubilius is paying a private visit to Russia.
Russian gas deliveries to the Baltic republic and problems of
Kaliningrad enclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania will highlight
the talks.
Following the closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant Lithuania
will have to increase annual gas consumption 1.5-2-fold to 4.5-6 billion
cubic meters. Russia's Gazprom currently supplies 3-3.2 billion cubic
meters of gas to Lithuania a year.
The government press service said nothing about the rumored sale of
Orlen Lietuva refinery (former Mazeikiu Nafta) to a Russian company after
its current Polish owner said it was considering selling the business.
However it said Kaliningrad issues will be high on the agenda. "In the
past years the efforts of both countries succeeded to ease to a certain
extent the negative consequences of European Union expansion for the
normal life of Kaliningrad region," it said adding 200 thousand Russians
annually travel from the enclave to Russia through Lithuania thanks to an
easy-term border regime.
Kubilius said on the eve of the visit Lithuania is interested in good
relations with the eastern neighbor. Their quality depends on both sides,
he said.
Baltic republics expressed concern over Russian plans to buy French
Mistral helicopter carrier.
Kubilius said "Lithuania and Russia are capable of maintaining
peaceful, rational and mutually beneficial relationship and jointly
searching for response to global challenges of the XXI century."
The Russian government press service said bilateral relations have a
"sustainable character at present".
The global economic crisis dropped bilateral trade 23.2 percent in
2009 against the previous year to 4.2 billion dollars. However,
investments remain stable. Russia mostly invests in Lithuanian processing
industry (479.7 million dollars and 34 percent of accrued investments into
Lithuanian economy), power engineering and gas sector (503.7 million
dollars or 35.7 percent), and the financial sphere (357.5 million dollars
or 25.4 percent). Lithuanian investments into the Russian economy comprise
from 172 to 270 million dollars, according to various estimates.
-0-nec