Kaliningrad issue to be discussed by government leaders of Baltic Sea States Council

The problems of the Kaliningrad region, Russia's western enclave, in the context of the EU expansion will be discussed at the meeting of the government leaders of CBSS, the Council of Baltic Sea States, due on June 10th in St.Petersburg, said Russian foreign ministry's official spokesman Alexander Yakovenko at a briefing on Wednesday.

This can be guessed from the participants of the meeting, as both EU and non-EU countries are to take part in the event, he said.

Moscow actively takes up the Kaliningrad issue at meetings with the EU representatives, Yakovenko pointed out. It was touched upon during the Russia-EU summit held in Moscow on May 29. Moscow hopes that the discussion will be efficient and that the parties will be able to find a solution based on their common interests, he said. The EU is Russia's largest economic and trade partner and Moscow is interested in further development of its relations with the Union, he recalled. "This is a basis for discussing the most acute problems, including that of the Kaliningrad region," he stressed.

The spokesman expressed his hope that the solution to these problems would be found.