Russian, German Presidents Talk Ties

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 04, 2002

Russian, German Presidents Talk Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met his German counterpart Johannes Rau on economic cooperation and the dispute over Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met his German counterpart Johannes Rau on economic cooperation and the dispute over Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.

Putin told a press conference after the meeting that Russia and Germany are enjoying positive development in bilateral relations in recent years, as Russia has repaid Germany 175 million euros (173.25 million U.S. dollars) in Soviet-era debt.

With the rapid development of political ties, the two countrieshave also strengthened their economic and trade relations, said Putin.

Referring to Germany as Russia's top trade partner, Putin said their trade turnover has grown 80 percent over the past two years to 25 billion euros (24.75 billion dollars).

The president also called Germany as Russia's major investment partner with its investment in Russia amounting to 6 billion dollars. He appealed to German entrepreneurs to further expand investment in Russia, noting that Germany ranked only No. 5 in direct investment in Russia.

As to the Kaliningrad issue, Putin said it is a "burning issue"between Russia and the EU but he believes there will be a mutually acceptable solution. Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Lithuania andPoland, will be completely cut off from mainland Russia when the two countries join the EU in 2004 as expected.

The EU has up to now refused to listen to Moscow's calls for visa-free travel for Russians between Kaliningrad and mainland Russia after the bloc enlarges.

Putin said he and Rau also discussed the issue of the Kyoto climate change accords. He said Russia intends to sign the accords,but gave no timeline and said experts are still reviewing the documents.

Rau, who arrived in Moscow Monday for a four-day state visit, said Germany is likely to develop sound relations with Russia and expects further bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy and investment.

He will leave Wednesday for the northern city of Novgorod, where German soldiers who died during World War II are buried.

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