Russia FM to attend G-8 ministerial meeting in Canada Tue.

GATINEAU, Canada, March 30 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Minister of Foreign
Affairs Sergei Lavrov is to attend a Group of Eight (G-8) ministerial
meeting that opens in this Canadian town on the outskirts of Ottawa on
Tuesday.
The meeting will be held in conditions that will somewhat differ from
those existing in previous years. First, the very format goes through a
transitional period. Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko
explained, "The bulk of the G-8 economic dossier is getting transferred to
the Group of Twenty (G-20) by virtue of the latter's becoming the main
floor for a dialogue on the problems of international financial and
economic relations".
As far as an agenda for the G-8 ministerial meeting is concerned, the
Canadian side brings up three large packages of issues for discussion, a
Russian Foreign Ministry official has told Itar-Tass. The first one
concerns the problems of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
(WMD). Nesterenko stressed in this connection, "This subject is of
particular importance in the light of the forthcoming nuclear security
summit in Washington later this spring and a regular NPT Review
Conference".
The G-8 Ministers are to work out a common line so as to ensure
progress at these two forums," a diplomatic source has told Itar-Tass.
Besides, the forthcoming discussion will also revolve around the regional
dimension of the non-proliferation problem. It will deal, in particular,
with Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes, as well as the
establishment of a zone free from all types of WMD in the Middle East. In
this context, Lavrov will brief those present on the results of the
meeting of the Quartet of international mediators (in the Middle East
peace process) in Moscow on March 19.
Moscow "expects that the G-8 will join in support, expressed by the
Quartet for the start-up of indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks", the
Ministry source said.
The second segment of issues concerns the elaboration of measures to
counteract international terrorism, drug trafficking and other global
challenges of our times.
The third theme suggested by Canada will be the coordination of
international assistance to the so-called vulnerable states. The Russian
side shares the view about the need to consider these problems and intends
to propose two initiatives, the diplomat said.
The first one concerns the development of international efforts in the
field of peacekeeping. The other proposal proceeds from the assumption
that one of manifestations of vulnerability is the inability to cope with
the aftermath of natural calamities, which manifested itself vividly
during the tragic events in Haiti.
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