Conference on interaction in Asia begins behind closed doors.

8/6 Tass 204

ISTANBUL, June 8 (Itar-Tass) - The Conference on Interaction and
Confidence-Building Measures in Asia on the level of heads of state and
government in Istanbul, quite unexpectedly for journalists, began behind
closed doors. According to the information of Itar-Tass, it is the
organisers of the forum, who decided to cancel direct broadcasting from
the conference hall.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is leading the Russian delegation,
is to make a report at the morning meeting. He came to Turkey for a
working visit. In the morning he had a meeting with his Turkish
counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, the host of the forum. The two leaders joined
other participants in the Conference after a joint press conference with a
small delay.
Putin will have a number of other bilateral meetings within the
framework of the Conference. "The Russian prime minister is expected to
meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev,
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and Kazakh President Nursultan
Nazarbayev," Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov reported.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building measures in Asia
is a multinational forum for the settlement of key regional problems and
for the development of cooperation between the member countries. The idea
to convene the Conference and to turn it into a permanently working
structure was put forward by the Kazakh president at the 47th U.N. General
Assembly session in October 1992.
At present the organisation rallies 20 countries: Azerbaijan,
Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, China,
Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, South Korea, Russia,
Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates. The
United Nations Organization, OSCE, the Arab League, as well as Vietnam,
Indonesia, Qatar, Malaysia, the United States, Ukraine and Japan have the
status of an observer.
The transfer of presidency in the Conference for the period of
2010-2012 from Kazakhstan to Turkey will be one of the main items on the
agenda. Iraq and Vietnam will become full members, bringing the total
number of members of the Conference to 22. Bangladesh will be given the
status of an observer.
Plenary meetings will discuss in a narrow format the Iranian nuclear
dossier, the recent attack of Israeli boats on ships of the Freedom
Flotilla with a humanitarian cargo on board, as well as the situation in
Iraq. A three-party Turkish-Afghan-Pakistani meeting on the war on
terrorism in the region will also be held within the framework of the
Conference.
-0-rom/gor