Lavrov to attend Russia-ASEAN Phuket meeting Wed.

PHUKET, Thailand, July 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Minister of Foreign
Affairs Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday attends a Russia-ASEAN ministerial
meeting on Phuket Island.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said, "It is
planned to review the development of Russia-ASEAN dialogue partnership,
primarily an increase in its economic component, as well as examine
international and regional problems of current concern".
The diplomat emphasized, "Main attention is to be devoted to the
holding of a second Russia-ASEAN summit in the near future. (The first one
was held in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005). As far as international
subjects are concerned, the sides are to discuss the formation of a new
security architecture and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR),
the development of versatile network diplomacy in the region, and the
situation on the Korean Peninsula".
Lavrov is also to hold a series of bilateral meetings, specifically
those with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Foreign ministers
of the People's Republic of China, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
Nesterenko pointedout, "Such areas as energy, science and
technologies, respoinses to emergencies, tourism, as well as joint efforts
to counteract new challenges and threats are visualised as priorities in
Russia-ASEAN cooperation. The sides currently work out matters concerning
interaction in these areas, including those with the participation of
Gazprom, RosAtom, and INTER RAO UES".
"A smooth functioning of the working mechanisms of dialogue
partnership" is of key importance to the step-up of Russia-ASEAN
trade-and-economic and investment cooperation," the RF Foreign Ministry
spokesman believes.
"The holding of meetings of senior officials in charge of economic
affairs, and of the Russia-ASEAN working group on trade and economic
cooperation acquire particular importance. Design activities aare
animportant practicalcontribution tothe devleopment ofdilaogue
partnership,"Nesterenko pointed o ut.
The Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership Financial Foundation (DPFF) was
established in 2007," Nesterenko recalled. "Over the past two years, two
tranches totalling $1 million were provided resultant of the DPFF. The
resources are used to implement joint projects in promising areas".
"The making of a regular contirbution of $750,000 to the DDFF by the
Russian Federation government "will promote a successful development of
project activities," he said.
Those present at the Russia-ASEAN meeting are to sign a Memorandum on
the establishment of an ASEAN Center at the MGIMO University. "The idea is
that the Center will be a scientific and educational organisation, the
activities of which will be aimed at stepping up scientific contacts among
institutions of higher learning and research centers of Russia and ASEAN
countries, as well as at extending the general public knowledge of
prospects for the development of Russia-ASEAN partnership," Nestereneko
explained.
"One of key areas of Russia-ASEAN interaction is counterterrorism. It
is planned to establish cooperation between the competent agencies of
Russia and ASEAN countries in anti-terrorist and crime-bustign spheres,"
Nesterenko said.

.RF, US to carry on strategic arms consultations in Geneva.

GENEVA, July 22 (Itar-Tass) - A regular round of Russo-American
consultations on the problems of preparing a new agreement on strategic
offensive arms opens here on Wednesday.
The talks will deal with the preparaiton of a new document, which is
intended to replace the current Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of
Strategic Offensive Arms (START-1) that was signed in Moscow between the
Soviet Union and the United States in 1991. The Treaty that ensured
cutbacks in the nucelar arsenals of Russia and the US by one-third expires
on December 5, this year.
Sources in the Russian delegation that is led by Anatoly Antonov,
Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry Department for Security and
Disarmament Affairs, said the upcoming consultations would deal with
specific parameters of the prospective treaty, as well as with the
problems of its correlation with issues related to the plans for the
deployment of elements of the US Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) defence
system in Eastern European countries, specifically in Poland and the
Czech Republic.
The regular round of consultations is to continue till July 24. The
consultations will be held in a closed-door mode. The talks are to
commence at 10:00 local time Wednesday at the Permanent Mission of the
Russian Federation at the UN Office at Geneva.
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