December 13, 06

NEWS / Russia, Argentina to move from words to action - Lavrov

BUENOS AIRES, December 13 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and Argentina will move from words to action in their bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Argentine counterpart Jorge Taiana on Wednesday.

???We have a large package of important agreements, which we have agreed to put on a practical footing,??? Lavrov said.

He said, ???The agreement on military-technical cooperation was signed in 2004. ??¦ Argentina has already ratified it. Russia is completing the procedure for making the document effective.???

???The interest in the development of such relations was affirmed during the Argentine defence minister??™s visit to Russia/ The content of interaction will be determined by the interests of the two countries and will benefit overall cooperation,??? the minister said.

Asked about a possible visit of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner to Moscow, Lavrov said. ???This will depend on the timing. ??¦ The visit could not take place this year for organizational reasons.???

???We have an interest in increasing the proportion of high-tech projects. There are plans to develop Argentina??™s nuclear power and space exploration capabilities. We want to expand cooperation in manufacturing and supplying equipment for power plants,??? Lavrov said.

In his words, ???There are regional projects. The Russian side is closely watching plans to build continental gas pipelines and railway lines.???

???I hope the competitive advantage of relevant Russian operators will be appreciated by partners in Latin America who are taking part in these projects. Russia would like to expand investment cooperation,??? the minister said.

In a joint statement adopted by Taiana and Lavrov after their talks, they noted ???considerable progress in political dialogue and cooperation between the two countries.???

Taiana said, ???Russia??™s accession to the WTO will make the whole system of international trade more balanced.???

The ministers expressed readiness to ???assist in the development of cooperation in the economic, industrial, investment, and financial fields??? and stressed their commitment to make ???the 6th meeting of the inter-governmental commission in Buenos Aires in March 2007 fruitful.???

Taiana and Lavrov ???believe it important to intensify bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, including the extraction and transportation of oil and gas, power generation, and the development of the nuclear power sector, the use of outer space for peaceful purposes.???

Argentina ???would like to view Russia as its privileged partner,??? Taiana said.

The ministers pledged to continue facilitating multilateral consultations on U.N. reform in order to enhance its authority and efficiency, while recognising the need for a broad consensus among all member states on reform, including the enlargement of the Security Council.???

Lavrov invited his Argentine counterpart to visit Russia at any convenient time. The invitation was accepted. The time of the visit will be discussed via diplomatic channels.

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