Russian foreign minister to attend OSCE ministerial meeting in Almaty.

MOSCOW, July 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
on Friday leaves for Kazakhstan's Almaty to attend an informal meeting of
OSCE foreign ministers.
The meeting of foreign ministers from 56 OSCE member countries will be
held on July 16 through 17.
The ministers will discuss topical problems inside and outside the
OSCE area of responsibility, including the situation in Kyrgyzstan and
Afghanistan. They will consider intermediate results of the dialogue
within the so-called Corfu process launched last year and geared towards a
common position in respect of future European security. Moscow hopes that
the meeting will also address Russia's initiative on a European Security
Treaty.
Special attention will be focused on issues to be included in the
agenda of an OSCE summit in Astana. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev
proposed to hold such a meeting in his country at the end of 2009. The
majority of OSCE member states, including Russia, have supported the idea,
since they have much to discuss bearing in mind that their last summit
meeting was held in 1999.
A number of bilateral and multilateral talks are planned within the
framework of the ministerial meeting. Thus, it is expected that foreign
ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will hold talks involving their
counterparts from the Minsk Group co-chairs (Russia, France, and the
United States), and the current OCSE chairman to discuss Karabakh
settlement problems.
It is also expected that heads and representatives from such
international organizations as the OSCE, EU, NATO, the Council of Europe,
CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Conference of
Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia will meet to discuss
security issues. The Russian Foreign Ministry hopes such meetings will be
held on a regular basis.
Russia supports the ides of reforming the OSCE. "However, many member
states are not interested in reforms and seek to put a brake on processes
in this area," the Russian foreign minister said. "For three or four
years, the OSCE has had on its negotiating table draft resolutions put
forth by Russia and its partners in the CIS and the Collective Security
Treaty Organization. These include a draft Statute of the OSCE, a draft
resolution regulating the activity of OSCE field missions, a draft
resolution introducing clear rules of election observation activities, and
a draft resolution regulating the relations between the OSCE and
non-government organizations."

.Two militants wanted for terrorism killed in special operation in
Dagestan.

MAKHACHKALA, July 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Two militants who were on the
federal wanted lists over terrorism-related crimes have been killed in a
special operation in the town of Khsavyurt in Russia's Caucasian republic
of Dagestan, a spokesman for the Federal Security Service's administration
in the republic told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
The two militants, Anzor Gadzhiev, born 1983, and Marid Tatayev, born
1986, were besieged in a private house in Khasavyurt. They had two
Kalashnikov submachine guns, three Shmel flame-throwers, two handguns,
several grenades, a great number of cartridges, pieces of explosive
devices, and explosives, the spokesman said.
According to the spokesman, Gadzhiyev and Tatayev were brought to
trial in Khasavyurt for assaulting a police officer in December 2008, but
the trial jury acquitted them in October 2009.
Two police officers were slightly wounded in the special operation.
Investigators are working at the scene. The special operation regime
imposed early on Thursday has not yet been lifted.

.German, French foreign ministers to visit Kyrgyzstan over recent
disorders.

BISHKEK, July 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Foreign Ministers Guido Westerwelle of
Germany and Bernard Kouchner of France on Friday will make a short-term
visit to Kyrgyzstan to discuss the situation in its southern areas
recently hip by interethnic violence, the press service of the Kyrgyz
Foreign Ministry told Itar-Tass.
"During their visit the German and French foreign ministers will meet
with Kyrgyzstan's interim president Roza Otunbayeva and Foreign Minister
Ruslan Kazakbayev to discuss the situation in the republic's southern
regions," the press service said. Westerwelle and Kouchner will also visit
the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan's south to "see how humanitarian aid is
being distributed and study conditions at temporary camps housing
displaced people and refugees who had returned to Kyrgyzstan."
-0-ras


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next