Medvedev to meet Merkel, Kan in Deauville

DEAUVILLE, May 27 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister
Naoto Kan on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Deauville on Friday.
Medvedev and Merkel "will 'synchronize watches' in bilateral
cooperation, in particular, in the light of the Russian-German Year of
Education, Science and Innovations which began on May 23 and preparations
for the 13th round of interstate consultations at the top level in
Hannover in July," Medvedev's foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko said.
"On the foreign policy track the Russian and German leaders will pay
specific attention to the current situation in the Middle East and
Northern Africa and to further joint work in the G8 and partnership
development between Russia and NATO," he added.
"On the eve of the Russia-EU summit in Nizhni Novgorod in June
Medvedev and Merkel will exchange opinions on issues of the formation of
renewed European security architecture and the development of strategic
partnership between Russia and the European Union, including the promotion
of Russian initiatives on a visa-free travel and cooperation in the
framework of the Partnership for Modernization program, and the state and
development of European interaction in the sphere of energy," Prikhodko
said.
With the Japanese prime minister Medvedev will discuss the elimination
of the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March.
"An important issue to be discussed is ongoing interaction in the
elimination of the consequences of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant. Russia is ready to share with Japan its experience
and available designs in the sphere," Prikhodko said.
Medvedev and Kan "will discuss problems of ensuring nuclear power
safety."
"The Russian side is ready for close interaction with Japan in the
sphere both on bilateral and multilateral basis, including in the IAEA
framework, and is set for major joint effort in the framework of bilateral
intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy and
hopes Japan will ratify it in the near future," the aide said.
"Joint efforts of our countries to overcome the consequences of the
natural-technogenic disaster create possibilities for providing additional
dynamic to bilateral relationship. Major guidelines of joint work include
interaction in the energy sphere, including increased supplies of Russian
energy carriers to Japan and participation of Japanese businesses in major
long-term projects in East Siberia and the Far East, expanded cooperation
in fishing and agricultural production," Prikhodko said.
He did not rule out that Kan will traditionally raise the territorial
dispute and said the Russian position remained unchanged regarding it.