Russian, Polish Presidents To Attend Economic Forum In Poznan On Thursday After Wednesday Negotiations In Warsaw

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski will hold official negotiations in Warsaw on Wednesday. The Kremlin's deputy chief of staff Sergei Prikhodko has told RIA Novosti that the Russian and Polish leaders will first hold a narrow-format meeting in the presidential palace, after which they will be joined by members of their delegations. After that, Putin and Kwasniewski will answer journalists' questions. In the afternoon, the Russian president will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later in the day, Putin will visit the Polish parliament and meet the speakers of Poland's Sejm and Senate, Marek Borowski and Longin Pastusiak. After that, the two presidents will attend a concert of Polish and Russian music at Warsaw's Grand Theatre. Late in the evening, they will attend an official dinner. On Thursday morning, Putin will have a business breakfast with Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller. On the same day marking the 58th anniversary of Warsaw's liberation from Nazi invaders, the Russian and Polish presidents will lay wreaths at the Military Cemetery where over 22,000 Soviet soldiers killed in the fighting for the Polish capital are buried. Later, Putin and Kwasniewski will leave, most likely in one plane, for Poznan where they are expected to address the 2nd Polish-Russian Economic Forum. The two leaders are also expected to visit an exhibition named "Polish Proposals for Russia." The exhibition shows the Polish building industry's potentialities in implementing investment projects in Russia. The Economic Forum will be attended by a large group of Russian business people representing the oil and food industries, transport, and the banking sector. In the afternoon, Putin and Kwasniewski will have a short private programme in Poznan. Perhaps, they will have a joint lunch or dinner at a restaurant. A Polish presidential spokesman has told RIA Novosti that official and informal negotiations between Putin and Kwasniewski will continue for about nine hours in total. Putin is expected to return to Moscow late at night on January 17th.