Russian, German Leaders to Discuss Debt Issue, Bilateral TiesGerman Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will arrive in St. Petersburg on Monday for a two-day summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the prolonged debt problem and bilateral relations.This will be the first meeting of the Russian-German forum " Petersburg dialogue," the Kremlin press service said Sunday. During the summit, the two leaders will discuss ways of solving the long-argued debt crisis between their countries and sign a principle memorandum of understanding on the issue. The two sides will reach agreement on converting Moscow's debts to Berlin into Germany's investments in Russia, which will promote Russia's constructive talks with the Paris Club of West creditors, said the press service. The Russian-German summit consultations will give a fresh impetus to the dialogue on their relations and help turn over the sorrowful pages, Russian diplomats say. The Russians, who lived through the Nazi ordeal and became very old, hope that Schroeder will make a solemn statement on the issue in St.Petersburg and Germany will take up its historical commitments, they say. Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov, who will attend the summit, said Sunday that the Petersburg Dialogue forum will help build confidence between the general public of the two countries. In an exclusive interview with Tass on the eve of his trip, Schroeder emphasized that the upcoming consultations are "a unique instrument" at the top political level for political exchanges, which Germany only has with a few countries outside the European Union. The summit's topic will be "Russia and Germany at the turn of the 21st century: glance into the future". |
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