OREANDA-NEWS. November 17, 2009. Stockholm will host the 24th Russia-EU summit. Russia will be represented by President Dmitry Medvedev and the EU by President of the European Council, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Council Secretary General/High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana.

The European Union is Russia’s largest trade, economic and foreign policy partner, with whom we share economic complementarity, and a common responsibility for stability on the European continent, the settlement of conflicts and crises, and solution of the global problems of our time.

The summit’s focus will be Russia-EU interaction in dealing with contemporary global issues: overcoming the effects of the global financial crisis; energy security, particularly in light of the well-known Russian initiatives for a new legal framework for international energy cooperation; and climate change response.

A thorough deliberation will take place on the full range of Russia-EU relations, including the implementation of the roadmaps for the four common spaces, and the progress in negotiations on a new Russia-EU framework agreement. The Russian side intends to devote particular attention to such areas of long-term partnership development as the transition to a visa-free regime for trips of citizens, cooperation in crisis management, and building up energy cooperation.

In a constructive and partner-like vein, we will continue the principled dialogue on the existing problematic issues in our political, economic and trade relations with the EU. The Russian side remains seriously concerned about the unresolved problems of the Russian-speaking minority in the Baltic states, and about the trends of the politicization of history that are cultivated in a number of EU member countries.

The sides agreed to compare notes on the issues of the European security architecture, including the Russian initiative for a European Security Treaty. Our principled stand in this regard has not changed – security on our continent must be indivisible and have regard to the interests of all countries without exception. Some of the most pressing international problems, including the Middle East peace process, Iran's nuclear program, the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in other regions of the world are also planned to be touched on.

We hope that the summit will not only confirm the strategic character of Russia-EU dialogue, but will outline the contours of future interaction as well.