Russian Ambassador To London: Moscow Meeting Between Russian And British Leaders To Spotlight Specific Issues

The swap of opinions during the Moscow meeting between the Russian and British leaders will focus on specific issues. Russian ambassador to London Grigory Karasin told this to journalists on Thursday on the eve of the brief working visit by British prime minister Tony Blair to Moscow, to begin later in the day. According to the ambassador, this time the current situation in the world will dictate the priorities of the meeting: the developments in Afghanistan and around it, bilateral relations between the two countries in this region, and pressing issues of the relations between Russia and Europe. The diplomat did not rule out that the agenda of the meeting might include other issues, too. Karasin proceeded that the Russian president and the British prime minister have developed mutual understanding of and respect for each other's arguments. Therefore, stressed the ambassador, such a meeting is unprecedentedly topical and is to produce the results anticipated by the international community. The Russian diplomat emphasized the need for jointly fighting terror, and taking a fresh look at the short-term and long-term targets. This should be combined with no more taking advantage of each other's problems for political manoeuvering, stressed Grigory Karasin.