Russian Foreign Minister on Kaliningrad issue

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has emphasised the necessity to find a resolution to the issue of the Kaliningrad region, a result of the European Union's enlargement, which will be acceptable for both Russia and the EU.

According to the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Foreign Minister made this statement at a meeting with Bavarian Minister-President Edmund Steuber.

The German oppositional CDU/CSU block is expected to forward the Bavarian leader to run for the German Federal Chancellor at parliamentary elections this September.

At the meeting, Ivanov and Steuber highly appreciated the present status of Russia-Germany relations and expressed their satisfaction with the pace of their development in various areas, the Foreign Ministry reported.

In this context, the two high-ranking officials stressed the importance of regional contacts, in which Moscow-Berlin partnership was an important aspect. Ivanov and Steuber stated there was a great potential for further improvement of Moscow-Berlin cooperation, including the area of bolstering the European and international security.

The Russian Foreign Minister and Bavarian Minister-President exchanged views on a whole range of international issues, including the struggle against international terrorism, new quality of relations between Russia and NATO and various aspects of Russia-EU cooperation. Mr. Steuber also asked Igor Ivanov to disclose the Russian vision of ways to resolve the Mideastern crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.