Merkel to meet Putin in Russia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin will have talks on Wednesday and Thursday in the Russian city of Tomsk, a German government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Merkel will be accompanied by a business delegation and a series of contracts will be signed, the spokesman said.

On the agenda of the is the signing of a cooperation agreement between the railway systems of the two countries and cooperation between German energy company BASF and Russian energy company Gazprom, added the spokesman.

Last year, Gazprom, BASF AG and E.ON AG signed a basic agreement on the construction of the North European Gas Pipeline ( NEGP) through the Baltic Sea when Gerhard Schroeder was the German chancellor.

The North European Gas Pipeline Company will be set up as a joint German-Russian venture, with Gazprom holding 51 percent and BASF and E.ON each 24.5 percent.

Bilateral trade between Russia and Germany increased 24 percent last year and the total volume reached 39 billion euros (48 billion US dollars).

Source: Xinhua