Medvedev doubts that nuke agt with Japan to be ready by G8 summit

MOSCOW, July 4 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev doubts that the intergovernmental agreement on Russian-Japanese cooperation in the atomic sphere will be prepared by his arrival in Japan for the Group of Eight summit.

"Meetings of the corresponding group are really underway at present. A
regular plenary meeting was held quite recently and an intergovernmental
agreement on this issue sis being prepared. The degree of the document's
readiness is not bad, but I think that we will not be able to complete it
by the summit and my visit," the president said answering a question of
Japanese reporters.

However, Medvedev is optimistic on this issue: "I would like this to
happen as soon as possible. The main thing here is to make a quality
document designed for years of cooperation. I think that both the Japanese
colleagues and Russian structures concerned are interested in this. I look
upon this theme with optimism."

The Russian president regards this cooperation sphere "very
important," "especially in the conditions when we are all concerned over
the energy security for the future." "Nuclear power and the nuclear power
industry is quite a promising sphere. We have good relations in this
sphere," said Medvedev.

The Russian head of state noted that energy security will become "one
of the subjects for consideration at the G8 meeting" on the Hokkaido
Island on July 7-9.