KREMLIN AIDE COMMENTS ON PUTIN EURASIAN SUMMIT MEETINGS AGENDA
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
15 Aug 06
Sochi, 15 August: Russian President Vladimir Putin will have an
opportunity to hold a number of meetings on the sidelines of the
Eurasian Economic Community informal summit which is to begin in Sochi
today, with several leaders, including Ukraine’s new prime minister,
Viktor Yanukovych. This was said today by presidential aide Sergey
Prikhodko.
"Separate talks will be held today with Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev," he said.
Prikhodko noted that in the presence of the two presidents two
agreements will be signed on creating favourable conditions for Russian
and Kazakh cargo transit, and on procedures of paying for cargo in
transit on several stretches of Russia’s and Kazakhstan’s railways.
"It is expected that Vladimir Putin will have lengthy and intensive
meetings with other colleagues, including with the new chairman of the
Ukrainian government, Viktor Yanukovych, who is to arrive in Sochi
today at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov,"
Prikhodko said.
He explained that Yanukovych has been invited to a number of protocol
events within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Community summit.
[ITAR TASS at 1352 gmt said that it is not ruled out that during the
Russian-Ukrainian talks at the level of prime ministers and also during
contacts between the prime ministers and President Putin, Russian gas
delivery to Ukraine will be discussed. The agency quoted an unnamed
Kremlin source as saying that "the Ukrainian side will discuss the
gas issue with Gazprom head Aleksey Miller, and failing that, with
Viktor Khristenko or Mikhail Fradkov". The source also said that no
detailed talks or indeed any signing of an agreement on gas delivery
to Belarus are being planned for the informal summit.
"It will not be possible to resolve the problem by using political
methods in either case," the source was quoted as saying.]