Moscow Believes Dialogue Between Russia And Italy Has Acquired Multifaceted Character

Moscow ascertains that the dialogue between Russia and Italy has acquired of late "a substantive and many-sided character." "Italy is one of the leading European partners of Russia," said official spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yakovenko in his interview with RIA Novosti on the eve of the visit to Russia by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

According to Yakovenko, the intensive political dialogue with Italy, "including at the highest level (four meetings only last year), has acquired of late a substantive and many-sided character." The official spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the attention in the Russian-Italian contacts at all levels is focused at the present time on the fight against terrorism both on the bilateral basis and on the scale of the efforts of the entire international community, including in the United Nations, the OSCE and the Group of Eight Countries (G-8). Speaking about bilateral cooperation, Alexander Yakovenko pointed out the implementation of the G-8 agreement on global partnership against the proliferation of weapons and materials of mass destruction.

Considerable attention is also being paid to the search for the ways to settle the situation around Iraq, on the Korean peninsula, in the Balkans and in the Middle East, said the official spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.