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ИНФОРМАЦИЯ ПОСОЛЬСТВА
РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ В КАНАДЕ
EMBASSY OF
THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN CANADA
285 Charlotte Street Ottawa,
Ontario K1N 8L5
tel: (613) 235-4341, fax:
(613) 236-6342, E-mail:
rusemb@magma.ca
____________________________________
PRESS-RELEASE
30.04.2004
* * *
Transcript of
Remarks and Replies to Media Questions by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sergey Lavrov Following Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council Plenary Meeting,
Luxembourg, April 27, 2004
Foreign Minister Lavrov:
A meeting with the colleagues from
the European Union took place today, which was held for the first time in the
format of the Permanent Partnership Council, the decision on whose establishment
had been taken during the Russia-EU summit in St. Petersburg on May 31, 2003.
We summed up the results of the work done over the past year of intense effort.
Practically continuously talks had been held on issues linked to a basis for
relations between the EU and Russia after the EU enlargement, due on May 1,
producing eventually a Joint Statement on the EU enlargement and Relations
between Russia and the European Union, which has set forth the mechanisms and
instruments for solving the concerns that the Russian side has.
We note with satisfaction that the
statement embodies a number of political obligations to minimize the
consequences of the EU enlargement for Russia's interests and to keep the
traditional flows of goods intact on Russian exporters' outlet markets in the
ten countries joining the EU. We agreed on the start of talks with a view to
signing an agreement on Kaliningrad freight traffic and on the start of talks on
an agreement for a facilitated visa regime. Over the long run, we are going to
arrive at a visa-free regime between the EU and Russia; that is, we will be
striving towards the goal set in the course of the summit.
In the Joint Statement, it is also attested that Russia and the EU welcome
membership in the European Union as a firm guarantee of the protection of human
rights and the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Both sides emphasized
their pledge to protect human rights and the rights of persons belonging to
national minorities. Also, satisfaction was expressed that we are being promised
in the coming days to be given information on the EU plans for the promotion of
the social integration of minorities. We shall carefully study these plans and
support them. Now the implementation of the agreements reached is in order. It
is this aspect that is going to be taken into account by the Russian Federal
Assembly when ratifying the Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement between Russia and the EU extending this agreement to the new members
of the European Union. It is envisaged that, before ratification, the Protocol
will be applied by Russia on a temporary basis from May 1.
We thoroughly discussed the course of the preparations for the upcoming Russia-EU
summit, due on May 21 in Moscow. We arrived at a common opinion with regard to
its content-filling. It is about taking the first specific decisions on the ways
and schedule for implementing the concept of the "four common spaces" of Russia
and the EU in line with the outcome of the meeting in St. Petersburg in May
2003. These spaces embrace the economics, domestic and external security, as
well as education and culture. We expect that by the summit, proposals will be
prepared as to the format of a kind of roadmaps for each of these sectors.
In discussing international problems
we concurred on the need to strengthen the collective approach in international
relations for the struggle against new threats and challenges in the settlement
of various conflicts.
We discussed the situation in Iraq, in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and in
Cyprus. On most international issues, the positions of Russia and the EU are
close or coincide.
The discussion has shown that, given
a political will, the knowing how and ability to hear each other, Russia and the
EU can well tackle any, even the most complex problems. No complications,
furthermore, can force us to swerve from the road of a genuine strategic
partnership. Russia is committed to this aim, and we see in the EU a reliable
and long-term partner.
Question: The question is
linked to the protection of the rights of the Russian-speaking population in
Estonia? What hinders the inclusion of concrete mechanisms for the protection of
national minorities in the joint statements? And does the European Union at all
have a common stand on this question?
Foreign Minister Lavrov:
Nothing hinders us from including these mechanisms in any text. The point is
that the mechanisms exist irrespective of any texts - they are set forth in the
international European conventions. And the fact that the European Union
together with us reaffirmed today the commitment to high standards in the field
of human rights and the protection of minorities, signifies that both the
Copenhagen principles and other international documents will be respected all
over the territory of the European Union. We trust our partners and have
accepted these assurances.
Question: Mr. Lavrov, you
have three times uttered the phrase "we are satisfied." Do any zones of
dissatisfaction remain? Could you tell us about them?
A second question is to the
representatives of the European Commission. Are you satisfied with the position
of Russia on Cyprus? Did you understand why Russia imposed a veto on the Cyprus
question?
Foreign Minister Lavrov:
I do not wish to be impolite, but let me say at once that, in my opinion, they
did understand.
As to the question addressed to me,
it is impossible for a normal person to reach full satisfaction. Always you
strive to do more, and a feeling of healthy dissatisfaction is the best
guarantee of effective work and of effective talks. I have already said and
don't mind repeating it that the main thing now is to start to move in the
directions which are set forth in the joint statements. In my opinion, we on
both sides have the political will for that, we have the understanding how to
advance and there is the first major objective - the Russia-EU summit on May 21
in Moscow. By this summit, we hope, it will already be clear what first concrete
results will be achieved under the agreements which we have today concluded.
Question: Mr. Lavrov,
continuing the theme of "satisfactions." Is there something with which you are
after all dissatisfied in the compromise reached on the question of freight
transit to Kaliningrad? What would an ideal solution of this question be,
towards which you will be striving?
Foreign Minister Lavrov:
First, what we have already managed to agree on means, as we were assured, that
since May 1, 2004, freight transit to and from Kaliningrad will be cheaper and
simpler than now. In addition, we laid down in the joint statement the specific
commitments of both sides to start talks on the question of signing a special
agreement on Kaliningrad freight transit, and we understand that we aren't going
to be slow with regard to this question. Such talks will begin soon.
Question: The Russian
press over the recent period has been naming concrete figures of the losses
which Russia will incur in the wake of the entry of the new countries into the
European Union. It is big figures, which produce an impression on the ordinary
man. Now, by all indications, these indicators no longer exist and losses will
not occur to such an enormous extent. Could you use a simple example,
understandable to the man in the street, to explain how this miracle was
achieved?
Foreign Minister Lavrov:
There was no miracle. Simply the figures to which you refer were the product of
forecasts and speculation. There also existed forecasts that we are going to
benefit from the accession to the European Union of the ten countries. I
understand all those were tentative assessments. None of them can claim full
objectivity. Only life will tell how these assessments are going to be proved.
My feeling, after a conversation with specialists, is: No substantial problems
will arise, and in the cases where Russian exporters do fear possible losses, we
in the text of the joint statement agreed on joint actions between the European
Union and Russia to ensure that this does not happen, that all the likely
adverse implications are removed to the greatest extent possible.
I would not appeal to more precise
figures. I repeat, everything possible has been done to reduce all the likely
adverse implications to a minimum. We have the assurances of our partners that,
with respect to all our concerns, specific joint actions will be taken or begin.
EMBASSY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN CANADA
285 Charlotte Street Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8L5
tel: (613) 235-4341, fax: (613) 236-6342,
E-mail:
rusemb@magma.ca
____________________________________
PRESS-RELEASE
30.04.2004
* * *
STATEMENT BY
THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN
Secretary General's Special Adviser, briefed a UN Security Council meeting on
April 27 on the results of his work in Iraq, presenting his evaluations of the
development of the situation and his vision of how the political process should
go in that country. In particular, he underscored the importance of forming a
caretaker Iraqi government as soon as possible, to which the coalition would
hand over sovereignty by June 30, 2004, and of holding a national convention
whose principal task would be to help the nation come together, to hold general
elections and prepare a permanent constitution of Iraq. Brahimi noted that the
UN's work in the country to help in carrying out these tasks is greatly impeded
by the lack of security and by the increasingly sharp confrontation between the
coalition and insurgents.
At the end of the briefing, the President of the Security Council made a
statement supporting the Secretary General's Special Adviser's efforts and
welcoming his preliminary ideas regarding formation of an interim Iraqi
government.
Russia considers it necessary that the UNSC should continue to pay close
attention to the complicated situation in Iraq, especially in the light of an
enhanced UN role in the settlement process after the handover of power to the
Iraqis themselves.
The spiral of military actions needs
to be urgently brought to a halt. Moscow shares the view of the UN Secretary
General that force not only strengthens the power of the opposition, but also
adversely affects sentiments in the region.
Supporting the efforts of the Secretary General and his Special Representative,
Russia presumes that Iraq's return to peace is possible only through a dialogue
and cooperation of all the Iraqi ethnic, religious and political groups and
forces, and that a caretaker government should be accepted and supported by the
Iraqi people. The international community could help the Iraqis through the
political process in the person of Iraq's neighbors, the UN Security Council
member states and the Arab League. An optimal way for achieving these objectives
could be the speediest convening under UN auspices of an international
conference whose results would be confirmed in a new Security Council
resolution, thus imparting international legitimacy to the caretaker government
and the entire subsequent process of a full restoration of Iraqi statehood.
EMBASSY OF THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION IN CANADA
285 Charlotte Street Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8L5
tel: (613) 235-4341, fax: (613) 236-6342,
E-mail:
rusemb@magma.ca
____________________________________
PRESS-RELEASE
26.04.2004
* * *
Speech by
Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, at the
Russian-Ukrainian conference of representatives of supreme legislative bodies of
power, Alushta, pension «Morye», April 23, 2004
President Vladimir Putin:
Dear Leonid Danilovich, dear colleagues,
I am very happy to be here today,
and welcome all participants of the Russian-Ukranian meeting of represetative of
supreme legislative bodies of power.
The supreme Rada of Ukraine and the
Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation has indeed recently demonstrated a
high level of responsibility, and readiness for coordinated actions, and has
ratified documents that are very important for bilateral relations and
international cooperation. This concerns the treaties on the Russian-Ukrainian
border and cooperation in use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch strait, and also the
agreement on a Common economic space.
I would like to note that the synchronized ratification of these key documents
is above all a sign of the growth in trust between our countries. And it is very
pleasing that parliamentarians of both Russia and Ukraine have felt this
tendency. Undoubtedly, this is the result of active and fruitful cooperation of
legislative bodies. I know that the path to ratification was not easy for
Ukraine or Russia. Among the deputies of both countries there were, of course,
particular opinions, and there were many serious disputes, but most importantly,
this impassioned and fundamental discussion is a normal process, and it is
especially pleasing when it ends with a positive result.
Now it is important to begin as soon as possible to implement the measures
stipulated by the agreement on a Common economic space of the “group of four”
countries. Today, we gave this a lot of attention in our talks with the
Ukrainian President. Our goal is to create a common market of goods, services,
capital, and labour force, the thin that the Europeans began with. God has
ordered us not to waste what we have had, but to move ahead, and on this basis
to solve social tasks, to create strong, effective, and above all economic
interaction. There is enough work for everyone, this is certain. The parliaments
of the two countries have a special role, and not because extensive legislative
activity rests on its shoulders – I am certain that deputies can minimize
excessive politicization of this process.
I would like to stress that not only official bodies and economic subjects are
interested in the development of economic cooperation – above all, business is
interested in this, which will work effectively in this space if it feels the
consolidated political will of our countries. And both our goals and yours are
the same: to become integrate into international economic processes. There are
no disagreements here, there are no obstacles which could arise in the course of
our joint work. On the contrary, we want to clear the way for movement in this
direction.
It is fundamentally important that
we want to occupy a place that is worthy of our country in the international
division of labour. We do not want for Russia to be restricted to export of gas
and oil alone, and I do not think that anyone in Ukraine wants to only trade
beets on international markets, especially as no one needs beets there.
We have a very high scientific, intellectual and personnel potential both in
Ukraine and in Russia. We should maintain it and increase it, I repeat once
more: to occupy a worthy place in the international economy – but we can only do
this by joining our efforts.
I suggest that under the close
supervision of deputies, there should also be issues determined by the Treaty on
the state border. During its implementation, it is important to take into
account the interests of citizens of Russia and Ukraine, to remember their
numerous ties of family and friends and business contacts, and to understand
that they reinforce inter-governmental relations. And in this sense, we need to
do a great deal more at the administrative level. Furthermore, we are developing
effective border cooperation, and the statutes of the treaty must be used to
strengthen these ties.
I note the great significance of the Azov-Kerch regulating process. We were able
to take a balance decision, which will allow us to establish the closest
cooperation in such spheres as shipping, fishing, protection of the environment
and many others. And here we also must not forget about the people who live in
these regions and suffer, truly suffer from the fact that these issues have not
been regulated. This depends on us together. It is something that we have not
worked out, as we have not yet created normal conditions for economy and normal
life in this region.
At the meeting you actively
discussed, a the speakers of the two parliaments said just now, the formation of
the Common economic space, primarily the legal issues which we need to decide
before we can move forward. It is important that the integration ideas we have
developed find their reflection in the laws that it remains for us to work on,
and which need to be passed. I know that at the meeting, Russian deputies also
talked about other problems. I will talk about this, but I will conclude this
section on economic integration. I would once again emphasise the role of the
parliaments, because in this serious discussion between deputies, there is a
process of understanding and recognition taking place of the correctness of the
choices and decisions we have made. So the more serious the discussions will be,
the beter – it is important that they end with a real result.
If we are talking about humanitarian issues, the decision of the National
Council on radio and television broadcasting in Ukraine was mentioned. It was as
it were specially passed before the voting on key issues of our interaction. I
would like to appeal to the deputies who want constructive cooperation between
our two countries: there should under no circumstances be any panic, and these
important issues should not be taken into the sphere of confrontation, this must
not be allowed to happen. These are very important, sensitive and delicate
issues of our cooperation.
In Russia, we always take the
position that we have created and will continue to create conditions for the
study and use of the Ukrainian language, particularly in areas with compact
settlement of Ukrainians. I want to assure you that we will do this
systematically and consistently. I hope that our Ukrainian colleagues have the
same understanding and approach. I count on common sense and friendly relations
with people in Ukraine who consider Russian to be their native language, who
think in Russian and would like their children to use this language. And I would
like to stress once more that this is Ukraine’s internal affair, the internal
affair of Ukrainian society. On our part, we in Russia will do everything to
support the development of Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian language in the
Russian Federation.
In conclusion, I would like to stress that partnership with Ukraine is the most
high priority area of Russian foreign policy. The fact that we signed and
ratified the treaty on the border proves this. We want to clear away everything
– and not just in the legal sphere – we want to clear away everything in the
minds of our citizens, that there are no obstacles for Russia to support the
historic choice of the Ukrainian people for independence. There are no
obstacles, but in clearing away these old ideas in their minds, in practice and
in law, our position is that we are clearing the way for joint effective work.
And in this sense, the role and significance of the activity of parliamentarians
is enormous. I very much hope that it will continue in the same positive and
constructive way, and with the same mood of joint, effective work which the
parliaments of the two countries have shown over the last few weeks.
Thank you for your attention and for
your joint work.
EMBASSY OF THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION IN CANADA
285 Charlotte Street Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8L5
tel: (613) 235-4341, fax: (613) 236-6342,
E-mail:
rusemb@magma.ca
____________________________________
PRESS-RELEASE
19.02.2004
* * *
О
порядке аккредитации иностранных журналистов
для освещения хода голосования и подведения предварительных итогов выборов
Президента России
Пресс-служба Центральной Избирательной Комиссии Российской Федерации с 17
февраля по 1 марта проводит аккредитацию представителей средств массовой
информации для освещения хода голосования и подведения предварительных итогов
выборов Президента Российской Федерации (14-15 марта).
Информационный центр “Выборы-2004” находится в здании Центральной Избирательной
Комиссии Российской Федерации по адресу: Москва, Большой Черкасский переулок,
дом 9.
Заявки на аккредитацию следует направлять по факсам: (095)206-59-94,
(095)206-88-04. Справки по телефону (095)921-44-11, (095)206-13-25.
Пребывающим из-за рубежа представителям зарубежных средств массовой информации
необходимо предварительно получить визовую поддержку и аккредитацию при
Министерстве иностранных дел Российской Федерации в качестве иностранного
спецкорреспондента.
Для этого следует:
1) направить в Пресс-центр Министерства иностранных дел Российской Федерации
(факс (095)230-24-08, (095)201-39-04; телефон для справок (095)201-25-36) не
позднее, чем за 5 рабочих дней до въезда письменный запрос главной редакции
соответствующего средства массовой информации о предоставлении визовой поддержки
и аккредитации своему сотруднику с указанием места получения визы и полных
паспортных данных;
2) обратиться в посольство или консульство России за получением въездной визы;
3) по прибытии в Москву получить в Пресс-центре Министерства иностранных дел
Российской Федерации (Зубовский бульвар, дом 4, телефон (201-25-36)
удостоверение спецкорреспондента иностранного средства массовой информации;
4) аккредитоваться в Информационном центре “Выборы-2004” по предъявлении
удостоверения спецкорреспондента иностранного средства массовой информации.
Проход в информационный центр “Выборы – 2004” будет осуществляться при
предъявлении удостоверения корреспондента иностранного СМИ и аккредитационного
удостоверения “Выборы – 2004”.
PRESS-RELEASE
Медиаcоюз представляет международный конкурс
журналистов
«ЗОЛОТОЙ ГЛАГОЛ»
МедиаСоюз, общероссийская общественная организация, приглашает зарубежных
журналистов принять участие в открытом международном журналистском конкурсе
«Золотой глагол» с целью развития профессиональных связей российской
медиа-индустрии с коллегами из соседних зарубежных стран, а также поддержки
русскоязычной журналистики.
В борьбе за призовое место смогут принять участие работники печатных СМИ,
телевидения и радио. Оригинальные публикации и сюжеты могут быть как на русском,
так и на родном языке участника.
Работы, представленные на конкурс будут рассмотрены в рамках трёх номинаций:
- «О России с любовью»- лучший материал о России;
- «Мы соседи» -
лучший материал о сотрудничестве с Россией;
- «Великий и могучий»- лучшее качество литературного текста.
В состав жюри конкурса входят известные деятели российской медиа-индустрии.
Конкурсные работы принимаются оргкомитетом с 1 марта по 1 мая 2004 года.
Финалисты конкурса будут приглашены на церемонию подведения итогов, которая
состоится в июне 2004 года в Москве.
Конкурсные материалы следует направлять по адресу:
Россия, 129085, г. Москва, пр-т Мира, д.95, 17 этаж, Медиаcоюз
Тел. (095) 217 2439, 217- 2328, факс: (095) 216- 9418, эл. почта:
info@ms.ru
Дополнительную информацию о конкурсе и Медиаcоюзе,
а также бланки анкет для участия в конкурсе можно получить на сайте
www.ms.ru
или на сайте Посольства России в Канаде
www.rusembcanada.mid.ru
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