CIS legislators to meet in Petersburg to discuss cooperation,

ST. PETERSURG, December 2 (Itar-Tass) -- Ahead of the 33rd plenary
meeting of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS), the councils of the Interparliamentary Assembly
and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation Parliamentary Assembly
will meet in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

The meeting of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly council will
consider the Kyrgyzstan and Moldova election results and the forthcoming
elections in Ukraine.
A separate theme will be Georgia's participation -- the statement on
withdrawal from the organisation will be considered in January.
The council is expected to adopt the supplement to the convention on
CIS border cooperation. The convention signed last year has already come
into force, but additional documents on agreements between regions must be
adopted for its full work.
On the CSTO council agenda are consideration of the course of
implementation of the June session decisions, the military and political
situation in the east European region of collective security,
consideration of the draft conception on legislation brining closer and
standardising in the area of collective security and other issues.




.Lavrov to participate in OSCE meeting, have talks with Greek PM.



ATHENS, December 2 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov on Wednesday will participate in the OSCE foreign minister council
meeting and then begin his brief visit to Greece. The two-day OSCE meeting
will conclude the work on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Russian foreign minister noted in his address to
representatives of 55 OSCE member countries that Moscow hoped for answers
in substance from their partners to the Russian president's proposal on
European security.
In Berlin in June 2008, Dmitry Medvedev proposed to work out a treaty
on European security. The initiative on firm security is of a uniting
character and is aimed at uniting potentials of states and international
organisations to create indivisible space of equal security for all the
countries of the Euro-Atlantic region.
The minister expressed appreciation to countries, experts,
politologists for the participation in numerous discussions on the Russian
initiative.
Russia hopes that the discussions started on Corfu Island in June on
European security will help renew the OSCE work. "We support the Corfu
process valued for the ability to generate non-blinker-shaded views of
things," he stressed.
The continuation of free discussions is expected to help breath new
life in the work of OSCE structures and work out ways of comprehensive
enhancement of the organisation's efficiency and vitality.
Russia proposes OSCE countries to renew the most important European
security treaties, including the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe and the Vienna document on confidence-building measures.
After the OSCE council meeting, the Russian minister will start his
working visit to Greece. In his address to the Greek public in the "Palace
of Music" in Athens, he will speak about the situation in the
Euro-Atlantic region and Russian-Greek relations. He will have talks with
leaders of the Greek-Russian friendship society. Then, Lavrov will meet
with Greek Prime-Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou in his
official residence, where a joint plan of actions between Russia and
Greece for 2010-11 will be signed.
-0-pan


.Russia,Italy role in postcrisis Eur to be discussed at Italy forum.
2/12 Tass 27


ROME, December 2 (Itar-Tass) -- The role of Russia and Italy in
post-crisis-Europe and developing bilateral relations will be discussed by
participants in the Russian-Italian dialogue forum here on Wednesday.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini will open the meeting of
officials and leading businessmen.
Italian Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola and Russian
Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko are expected to speak at the
conclusion.
Among the participants will be State Duma international affairs
committee head Konstantin Kosachev, Federation Council international
affairs committee chairman Mikhail Margelov, Italian Culture and Education
Ministers Sandro Bondi and Mariastella Gelmini, Russian presidential envoy
on international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi and the forum
co-chairpersons -- Vnesheconombank head Vladimir Dmitriyev and Todini
Finanziaria president Luisa Todini.
Three meeting will be held to discuss political cooperation on the
European level, cooperation in the sphere of culture, education, mass
communications and churches and economic cooperation and positive
possibilities in the post-crisis period. The wide-range exchange of views
will be followed by the six round of Russian-Italian inter-state
consultations that will take place in Rome on December 3. Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
will chair the consultations.
-0-pan