The largest yet Russian-German multilevel forum opens in Saint-Petersburg

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are expected to become one of the forum’s focal points. Messrs. Putin and Schroeder will start their meeting with a joint laying of wreaths at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery where thousands of Leningrad residents, who died during the Nazi blockade, are buried. President Putin will have to solve in our Northern Capital an extremely urgent problem – that of repayment of Russian debts by transferring part of shares of domestic companies, according to ITAR-TASS. It is noteworthy that out of $40bn Russia owes the Paris club of creditors, $20bn accounts for Germany. The first event on the forum’s agenda is a 2-day seminar on “Russia and Germany at the turn of 21st Century: an Outlook for the Future.” The seminar participants will have to adopt a joint statement on the directions of further cooperation. Within the forum’s frameworks, there will also be roundtable discussion on “Politics and Civil Society,” “Economics and Business,” “Science and Education,” “Culture,” “Mass Media.”