News

On 15-16 January, the delegation headed by Antanas Valionis the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania left on a working visit for Moscow. During the visit, Minister Valionis is going to meet with Igor Ivanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation(RF); Valentin Yelagin, Minister Co-ordinating the Functioning of Federal Authorities Responsible for the Social and Economic Development of Chechnya; Sergey Mironov, High Representative of the RF for Human Rights; Dmitri Rogozin, Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Duma of the RF, Head of the Delegation of the RF to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Mikhail Lesin, Minister of Press, Television and Radio Affairs of the RF; Viktor Khristenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the RF, other high officials of the Russian Federation, and Ambassadors of Council of Europe member states. The pace of democratic reforms in Russia, the legal reform, protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Russia as well as the situation in Chechnya are the issues on the meeting agenda. The fight of the international coalition against terrorism, the activities of the Council of Europe, and the drafting of legal documents on fight against terrorism are to be discussed too. Minister Valionis will acquaint the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Ivanov with the agenda of the Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe "Regional Co-operation: Its Impact on Stability and Democratic Reforms in Europe" to take place in Vilnius on 2-3 May 2002. The Minister will also touch upon the promotion of co-operation between the Baltic Sea States Council and the Council of Europe. Bilateral relations and co-operation between Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Region are also included in the package of items for discussion. On 15 January, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania will host the meeting of Minister Valionis with Russian politologists, representatives of mass media and NGOs. Minister Valionis will also have a meeting with the Moscow Lithuanians community and a visit to the Lithuanian school "Šaltinėlis".