The Russian Foreign Minister Speaks Of The Lack Of Progress At The Negotiations With The European Union With Regard To The Kaliningrad Region

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov believes that "so far there is no appreciable progress" in the dialogue between Moscow and the European Union concerning the future of the Kaliningrad region (the Russian enclave in the west) after the entry of Lithuania into this European organisation. Igor Ivanov said this on Tuesday at the news conference after the end of the negotiations with his Lithuanian colleague Antanas Valionis. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the discussion of the problem of the Kaliningrad region and of ensuring its life-supporting systems is going on mainly at the level of Russia-the European Union. At the same time, in the opinion of Moscow, Poland and Lithuania should also take part in these negotiations, because these countries are negotiating their entry in this European organisation, and the solution of the problems connected with the Kaliningrad region concerns their interests. According to Igor Ivanov, "so far the existing problems are only being named and fixed" with regard to the Kaliningrad region after the expansion of the European Union. These words should also be applied to the readiness to conduct a dialogue with appropriate structures of the European Union. "We are interested in this dialogue being more lively and constructive," underscored Igor Ivanov. According to him, this question will be raised during the coming contacts between representatives of Russia and the European Union.