ID :
118019
Thu, 04/22/2010 - 12:37
Auther :

Ukraine, Russia confirm commitment to good relations --Yanukovich.



KIEV, April 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Wednesday's meeting between Ukrainian
President Viktor Yanukovich and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
confirmed the two countries' commitment to normalising bilateral relations.
The meeting "confirmed again the consistency of Ukraine's course
towards normalisation of relations with the Russian Federation," the
presidential press service said in a statement, emphasising the fact that
it was the fourth Ukrainian-Russian summit in the past two months.
"The meeting in Kharkov, just like the previous ones, was substantive
and fruitful. In particular, important negotiations were held on a wide
range of issues from the Ukrainian-Russian agenda, including political
cooperation, economic and humanitarian issues," Yanukovich said.
He stressed that the two leaders "came to an understanding on the
reduction of the gas price".
Yanukovich said the gas agreements reached at the meeting would give
Ukraine "a ten-year break to prepare for a transition to world prices".

.Govt commission to discuss draft report on agricultural development.

MOSCOW, April 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The government commission on the
agro-industrial sector chaired by First Vice Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov
will meet on Thursday, April 22, to consider a draft report assessing the
implementation of the programme of agricultural development and regulation
of agricultural and food markets in 2009.
The commission will discuss the main agricultural development
indicators, a forecast for the industry's development in 2010, and
proposals concerning priority measures to implement the 2008-2012
programme in the current year, a government official said.
Key criteria for assessing the report will include the effectiveness
of budget investments in agriculture, keeping of the current pace and
scale of programme implementation, achievement of qualitative changes in
key areas, and progress of import-substitution measures.
After approval, the report will be submitted to the parliament.

.OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen to meet in Moscow Apr 22.

BAKU, April 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group
will meet in Moscow on Thursday, April 22, to discuss the next steps in
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
American Co-Chairman Robert Bradtke said it would be possible to say
something specific about the next round of direct talks between the
presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia only after the Moscow meeting.
On Tuesday, the new Russian co-chairman, Igor Popov, was introduced to
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev.
Aliyev, Popov and Popov's predecessor, Yuri Merzlyakov, "discussed
issues of the Karabakh conflict settlement."
In his interview with local media, the new co-chairman vowed to make
his contribution to the Karabakh settlement. "As a co-chairman, I will
seek to find the soonest possible solution to the conflict. Russia's stand
on the issue is well known and it remains unchanged. It is important not
to loose momentum in the negotiating process," Popov said.
Before being appointed co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group on
Nagorno-Karabakh, Popov was deputy director of the Russian Foreign
Ministry's First CIS State Department.
The U.S. co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Robert Bradtke, arrived
in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku on Tuesday. He and Popov had
consultations with Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov.
Aliyev earlier urged Armenia to reply to the proposals put forth the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen on the basis of the Madrid principles.
"We have already come to the point where Armenia should state its
position," Aliyev said at a government meeting on Wednesday, which focused
on the socio-economic development of Azerbaijan in the first quarter of
2010.
Azerbaijan has stated its position, he recalled.
"Azerbaijan has officially said that the mediators' proposals were
acceptable to us in principle. There are only minor aspects that worry us
there," the president said.
"These proposals, with some minor exceptions, should be used as the
basis for drafting a peace agreement," he added.
Aliyev expressed regret that Armenia has not expressed its attitude
towards the mediator's proposals in more than two months. "Moreover,
according to the information we have, the additions the Armenian side
wants to make to the mediators' proposals will take us back to the start
of the process. Neither we nor Minsk Group co-chairmen can accept that,"
he said.
Aliyev believes that if Armenia accepts the Minsk Group co-chairmen's
proposals, this will invigorate the talks and allow the parties to start
drafting an agreement.
"If they [Armenia] do no accept the proposals, I think the talks will
become senseless, and it is unacceptable for us to conduct them for the
sake of imitation," Aliyev said, adding that Azerbaijan "will conduct
negotiations as long as it hopes that they will produce results".
"If we see that there is no hope, the talks should be stopped and a
new stage will begin. It is too early to say what this stage will be like,
but Azerbaijan is prepared for any scenario," he said.
-0-zak/


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