Russian President to Meet German Chancellor Schroeder in Berlin on October 24

Russian president Vladimir Putin will pay a short working visit to Germany, on agreement with the German chancellor, on October 24th, before the APEC summit to be held in Mexico.

Deputy chief of staff of the Kremlin administration Sergei Prikhodko told RIA Novosti that the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder would be held at Berlin airport for saving time. Prikhodko believes it will last one and a half or two hours.

The Kremlin representative stressed that the head of the Russian state would be the first leader of the G8 countries to meet Schroeder after his official approval in the Bundestag as German chancellor.

According to Prikhodko, the Russian president and the German chancellor are going to exchange opinions "on the topical international issues" shortly before the European Union summit scheduled for October 24th in Brussels, the Russia-EU summit in Copenhagen and the meeting between Vladimir Putin and US president George Bush within the framework of the APEC forum.

The leaders of the two countries will also discuss the situation around Iraq, Russia-NATO relations, the Kaliningrad problem and issues pertaining to bilateral cooperation.

It was stressed in the Kremlin that the political dialogue between Moscow and Berlin was developing dynamically. Prikhodko pointed out that Putin and Schroeder met regularly and added that during this meeting they would also consider the "schedule of further contacts."