Putin wants good ties with Germany to stay

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday his country wants the level of ties with Germany to be maintained with new Chancellor Angela Merkel leading the nation.

"Relations between our countries are on a very high level" and Russia hopes "the growth and quality of our cooperation will be maintained in the future," Putin was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as telling visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

This was Steinmeier's first visit to Moscow in his current capacity.

Putin said that during his latest telephone conversation with Merkel, the two leaders agreed to meet in Russia in mid-January 2006.

"Germany was and remains an important partner for us in the European Union (EU) and in bilateral relations," Putin said.

Germany is Russia's major trading partner in Europe. Bilateral trade reached 23.9 billion US dollars in 2004. In September, the two countries signed a major deal on a Russia-Germany gas pipeline on the Baltic seabed.

Steinmeier pledged the strategic partnership between the two countries will continue.

"The fact that Angela Merkel will come here in mid-January and top-level inter-governmental consultations will be held in Tomsk in March underlines how much there is to be done," he said.

Later in the day, Steinmeier met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Speaking to reporters after their talks, Steinmeier said bilateral relations can continue on a well-established basis not only in the economy and the energy sector but also in culture, education and youth exchanges.

Lavrov said they discussed a range of issues. "We have either close or identical views or full understanding on all issues," he said.

Lavrov expressed hope for the resumption of talks between the EU and Iran over its disputed nuclear program, saying Russia is ready to pitch in.

Germany, France and Britain, which have represented the EU in the talks, had been trying to persuade Tehran to scrap uranium enrichment, but the talks collapsed after Iran ended a freeze on uranium conversion in August. Iran has insisted on a full nuclear fuel cycle.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. Iran, however, says its nuclear program is dedicated exclusively to power generation.

Moscow has proposed a plan that would allow Iran a civilian nuclear program but transfer uranium enrichment, the most sensitive part of the nuclear fuel cycle, to Russia. The proposal has been backed by the EU and the United States.

"We consider it (the proposal) quite workable. It can lead us to a comprehensive package of agreements that will provide a reliable solution to the Iranian nuclear problem," Lavrov said.

Iran is ready for talks and "we hope that such negotiations will resume in the very near future," he said.

Source: Xinhua