.Medvedev to visit Syria, Turkey.

MOSCOW, May 10 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will
go on a three-day Asian tour Monday to visit Syria and Turkey. High on the
agenda of his talks in the countries is economic and humanitarian
bilateral cooperation, development of the tourism industry and
international relations.
"Dmitry Medvedev was invited to Syria already long ago and for several
times, the incumbent president of this country has paid three visits to
Russia," Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told reporters. "We
hope that the level of political dialogue, our role in the Middle East
settlement, broader bilateral trade and economic relations and our
traditional attention to this region are quite enough to make this visit
right now," Prikhodko said.
The Russian president will arrive in Damascus with Russian first lady
Svetlana Medvedev on Monday evening. After short negotiations with Syrian
President Bashar al-Asad Medvedev will have an official dinner. The
leaders of the countries are to have a quite intensive agenda on May 11.
At first the negotiations will be held in the eye-to-eye and broad formats
to be highlighted with the signing of several bilateral documents that
envisage broader cooperation in various fields from the air traffic and
information technologies to tourism and environmental protection.
The presidents of the countries will discuss a quite broad range of
issues. "The negotiations will highlight trade and economic and
humanitarian cooperation, domestic political dialogue, military-technical
cooperation, the Middle East settlement, as well as the current situation
in the whole region," Prikhodko noted. "Probably the current situation in
Lebanon and Iran will be touched, but these issues will not be
prioritized," the Russian presidential aide said. Obviously the Russian
president will be interested in Syria's assessment of the current
situation in neighboring Iraq, the prospects to convene a Middle East
peace conference in Moscow and will discuss the Israel-PNA settlement and
the domestic situation in Syria.
On Tuesday evening, Medvedev will leave Syria for Turkey, where he was
also invited for several times. The Russian president will meet with
Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in
Ankara. Medvedev is also to meet with Speaker of the Turkish Grand
National Assembly (Parliament) Mehmet Ali Sahin. The Russian leader will
participate in a Russian-Turkish business forum.
"Russia and Turkey have brought the bilateral relations recently to a
qualitatively new level of strategic partnership based on the joint
political declaration, which the presidents adopted during Gul's visit in
Moscow in February 2009," Prikhodko noted. At forthcoming negotiations the
countries are planning to sign a joint statement on establishing a body of
bilateral interstate consultations - a high-level cooperation council
under the chairmanship of Medvedev and Erdogan. A first meeting of the
council will be held during Medvedev's visit in Ankara.
The interlocutors will focus "on the discussion to build up a
contractual and legal basis of bilateral relations." "Upon the results of
the visit more than 20 documents are expected to sign, including
agreements in the transport industry, agriculture, the energy sector,
education, tourism and law enforcement," Prikhodko said. However, the
negotiations will center on topical problems of trade and economic
relations. "Despite the aftermath of the world economic crisis Turkey
remains among Russia's major economic partners," Prikhodko noted.
Medvedev will also discuss with the Turkish top officials cooperation
in the struggle against extremism and terrorism, the prospects to shape a
new European security architecture in the light of Russia's initiative to
conclude a corresponding treaty, the current situation in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Iranian nuclear program and the development
of cooperation in the Black Sea region.

.Some 77 people remain trapped in Kemerovo coalmine.

KEMEROVO, May 10 (Itar-Tass) -- Some 77 people remain trapped in the
Raspadskaya coalmine in the Kemerovo Region, chief of the regional
emergencies department Yerem Aratyunian told Itar-Tass on Monday.
He noted that six dead miners, whom the rescuers lifted from the
coalmine, were on the list of 64 miners, whose fate was unclear. So, 58
miners and 19 rescuers remain trapped in the coalmine.
-0-baz


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