I am pleased the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev is paying us this visit, and that since yesterday evening we have been having detailed and substantive talks.

 

Our last meeting in Moscow was very brief due to the parade [celebrating the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War] and we only had time to exchange a few words, and so we decided to meet again here in a quieter setting to discuss bilateral matters and the international situation. Preparations for the G20 summit and an assessment of events in the world also came in for our attention. I spoke about the importance we in the European Union place on keeping the euro stable. This is why we adopted a package of measures to rescue the euro. We all share the view that keeping the euro stable is our main task, and one of the main tasks for ensuring stability in our world. The G20 will discuss financial market regulation. Russia and Germany both agree on this. I said that the question of reasonable budgets is a key issue in Germany’s eyes. We cannot achieve growth by running big deficits. We need to achieve sustainable growth. 

 

We discussed the whole range of international issues, including the question of closer cooperation on security between Germany and Russia. Mr Medvedev proposed developing new forms of security cooperation between the European Union and Russia. We think that we already have a good opportunity to build on the cooperation work that was going on at the ambassadorial level previously. We can develop this format by taking it to the ministerial level. 

 

Inside the EU we need to work together with Russia on laying the foundations for conflict resolution mechanisms covering both civil and military aspects. It has become apparent that the formats we have been using so far are insufficient. We need to maintain regular continued discussion on hotbeds of conflict. 

 

In Brussels there is a committee of the different countries’ ambassadors, who meet to discuss these issues. We could expand this committee’s work and have discussions take place at the foreign minister level. This is a body that we could use to resolve specific problems. I think that the situation in Trans-Dniester is a good example in this respect. It could provide us with an example of how this kind of dispute resolution mechanism can contribute to settling conflicts. We propose establishing this mechanism.

 

The German Federal Republic will put forward this proposal at this body’s next meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. Russia supports this initiative, and we think a positive reaction will come from the European Union too, and we will be able to take this practical step forward in expanding our cooperation with Russia. This cooperation will enable us to handle complicated situations better than was the case in the past.  

 

Once more, thank you for this visit. We have tried to turn on the good weather too, so as to show ourselves in the best light.

 

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Thank you very much.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

I want to say thank you for today’s meeting. It has been unprecedented in terms of substance. Indeed, counting everything up, by my reckoning we have spent more than ten and a half hours in talks. That is a long time. I can tell you that when talks between state leaders last for more than 3-4 hours it is a sign that we are discussing many different issues. We certainly have plenty to discuss, and we know how to listen to each other and how to find all kinds of solutions to even the most complex bilateral, regional or international problems.

 

We agreed to continue our discussions very soon, above all on the economic side of things. We will have the opportunity to do this during the consultations in Yekaterinburg in July. We will talk there about the economy and about our bilateral projects. We did discuss these things today too, but our discussions centred more on security issues, on security cooperation between Russia and the European Union, and on European security issues and security in the broad sense of the word.

 

We hope that by making joint efforts we will be able to resolve all kinds of different problems. Ms Merkel gave an example just now of one issue on which we could hold more specific talks, in particular through the special Russia-EU committee on foreign policy and security. We already hold regular consultations, but we think it would be the right step to raise their level and give this mechanism a more systemic basis, make it a dedicated forum for exchanging views on current international affairs and security issues.

 

It could also work on drafting recommendations on various cooperation matters, including resolving crisis situations, in which Russia and the EU are involved as sponsors of settlement efforts, observers, or are for whatever reasons drawn into discussions on these matters. 

 

 

We therefore agreed to continue our consultations on this subject. We do indeed want to raise the level at which these sorts of decisions are coordinated and develop closer coordination, not so as to create yet another of the bureaucratic organisations of which Europe and Russia already have more than enough, but to resolve practical issues. In particular, we talked about Trans-Dniester today, about the possibility of combining our efforts to resolve this conflict. This could involve stepping up efforts within the 5+2 group, bringing together all of the parties, but also perhaps developing some new possibilities too, such as those that the Russia-EU security forum would give us. I think this is an interesting initiative and I hope it wins the support of all the EU countries. I am grateful to my colleague for the understanding she has shown on this issue.

 

We discussed a broad range of issues today. We talked about resolving international problems, discussed Iran, of course, Afghanistan, the situation in Central Asia, and also European security issues. All of the issues I just mentioned are part of European security in the broader sense. We also talked about continuing work on the draft treaty on European security through the OSCE and the Corfu process, and also, perhaps, through the new platform that we discussed today. 

 

We discussed the results of the recent Russia-EU summit in Rostov-on-Don. Overall, I am fully satisfied with its results. 

 

But at the same time, we also need to intensify our cooperation in a whole range of areas. We discussed the situation in Europe, of course, the economic situation and the crisis in the euro zone. I was very interested to hear Germany’s views on this matter considering that Germany is one of the main players in all of these processes. But the situation in the euro zone and the economic development situation in various EU countries in general have a big impact on many of the economic processes underway in our country too.

 

I am happy with the explanations I received, because the situation was looking rather tense not so long ago. But now I feel confident that our colleagues can cope with the problems before them, and that the positive work accomplished over these last years in building the common EU economic space and creating a single currency – the euro – will not be undermined and will have good prospects for the future. It is very important for all of us, including in the Russian Federation, to feel this confidence. I remind you that Russia has very strong trade relations with the European Union and holds a substantial part of its foreign currency reserves in euros.

 

We spoke about the future too, of course. There is one area in which we think the European Union and Russia need to move faster and make concessions to each other (and we discussed at the Russia-EU summit): this is the abolition of visas.  We understand the difficulties involved, but at the same time, we think we need to be more attentive towards each other. We will continue to discuss this matter, of course.

 

This more or less sums up the range of issues we discussed over these ten or so hours. Our meeting took place in a very frank and friendly atmosphere, and the chosen venue contributed to this too. But we have not yet finished our exchange of views and, after sharing our thoughts and comments with you here, we will go back to the castle and resume our discussion.