Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with French and German leaders on Monday to discuss, among other things, European security and the Russia-EU visa regime, according to RIA Novosti.
The talks between Medvedev, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Deauville, northern France, would resume after the five-year break with a working dinner on Monday. Three-party consultations are scheduled for Tuesday morning, followed by a joint news conference.
"A three-sided meeting is not an exclusive club to work out decisions separately from other states, but rather a convenient format for discussing our common vision in a trustful, frank atmosphere with our closest partners in Europe," Prikhodko said.
Regarding European security, Prikhodko said Russia wants to promote Medvedev`s European security treaty initiative.
Medvedev proposed drawing up a new European security pact in June 2008, and Russia published a draft of the treaty in December 2009, sending copies to heads of state and international organizations, including NATO. However, the proposal has been met coolly by Western powers.
Prikhodko also said that soonest introduction eased visa regime between Russia and the European Union will be among the key issues on the agenda.
"The first issue that we would put forward will be the eased procedure of visa issuance and introduction of advanced methods in data processing," the Kremlin official said.
He did not rule out that Russia may raise the question of scrapping visa regime with the EU, which has become a major foreign policy goal in Moscow`s relations with Brussels.
Russia submitted a draft agreement on scrapping visa requirements to the European Union at the Russia-EU summit in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don on May 31. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on the same day that "the majority of our partners in Europe support this idea," but several EU states reject it, mainly for political reasons.
Prikhodko said that energy issues, Iran`s controversial nuclear program, as well as Russia-NATO and Russia-EU cooperation would also be discussed at the meeting.
