German leaders met visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov on Thursday, aiming at improving relations between the two
countries.
The two sides repeated their commitment to finding a diplomatic
solution to th e crisis over Iran's controversial nuclear
program.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Defense
Minister Franz Josef Jung said their countries would try every
diplomatic avenue to ensure Iran does not acquire nuclear
weapons.
Both said it was now up Iran to return to the negotiating table
and meet UN security council demands on its nuclear program.
Lavrov, who arrived here on Wednesday, also met German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, focusing on preparations for a summit
scheduled to take place on April 26-27 in the Russian city of
Tomsk.
The two sides agree that business relations and more science and
education exchanges should be put high on the agenda of the summit,
according to a German government spokesman.
During their meeting, Lavrov and German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier also discussed the elections in
Belarus.
The spokesman quoted Lavrov as saying that the March 19 poll had
"expressed the Belarus people's will."
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko was reelected as the
president on March 19 in the country's presidential election,
securing a third term in office.
However, Germany and other western countries claimed that the
elections are not fair and threatened to impose sanctions on
Belarus. But Russia says the election is fair and democratic and
the results should be accepted.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2006)
