Vladimir Putin To Meet German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder Friday

Russian president Vladimir Putin will meet on Friday with German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who will make a short stop in Moscow on the way to Germany from his Asian tour. The German leader had visited China, Pakistan and India. He will stay in Moscow for several hours. The German embassy to Russia reported that already at night he will return to Berlin. RIA Novosti has learnt from the German diplomatic sources in Moscow that Gerhard Schroeder is going to tell the Russian president about the results of his negotiations with the leaders of China, Pakistan and India at which the sides discussed the situation in Afghanistan in connection with the anti-terror operation. According to the sources, the struggle against international terrorism will be one of the main issues to be discussed by Putin and Schroeder. They also raised this question many times in the telephone conversations comparing their estimates of the anti-terror operation in Afghanistan. This will be the sixth meeting between the Russian president and the German chancellor since Putin was elected the president of Russia in March, 2000.