Putin calls for depoliticizing Ukraine’s association with EU

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for de-politicizing the issue of Ukraine’s associated membership of the European Union and holding a tripartite Russian-Ukrainian-EU meeting to discuss it, as Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has proposed.

“I would believe it would be good to de-politicize this issue and agree with President Yanukovych’s proposal to substantively and properly talk on all these matters in a tripartite format,” Putin said at a press conference following negotiations with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on Tuesday,according to Voice of Russia.

He also called for “direct contacts” between the Russian, Ukrainian and EU business communities.

Putin comes to Trieste to attend Russian-Italian consultations

Russian President Vladimir Putin has come to Trieste, Italy, to participate in the 8th round of bilateral consultations with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta.

Putin visited the Vatican in the course of his working visit to Italy on Monday to meet with the Pontiff.

He also met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in Rome.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said before the visit that the international agenda of the negotiations included “Russia’s interaction with the EU and NATO and pressing global affairs, first and foremost, Syria.”

Russia and Italy launched the mechanism of high-level interstate consultations involving senior ministers in 2002.

The previous, seventh, meeting of the format was held in Sochi in December 2010.

The upcoming meeting will embrace the entire range of bilateral and international cooperation issues, Ushakov said.

About ten intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents are being prepared for signing with the purpose of fostering cooperation in healthcare, customs regulation and anti-crime measures.

In addition, about 15 inter-corporate documents will be signed on the visit’s sidelines.

“Contracts will be concluded by Russian and Italian energy, industrial and transportation companies and banks,” the presidential aide said.

Putin and Letta will attend a business forum organized by the Forum-Dialogue within the Framework of Civil Societies.

M.D