China's Foreign Minister Visits Poland

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China is to pay an official visit to Poland on 4-6 August 2011 at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radoslaw Sikorski.

The Foreign Ministers will meet on Friday, 5 August in Warsaw. The Ministers will discuss the strengthening of Polish-Chinese cooperation, bilateral policy, as well as regional and global issues, including the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The Ministers will also discuss the implementation of planned high-level visits.

05/08/2011, The Moscow News

Foreign Minister of Moldova visits Finland

Foreign and European Integration Minister of Moldova will visit Finland on 11-12 September and meet the Foreign Minister of Finland on 12 September.

The Foreign Ministers will discuss, among other things, the bilateral relations between the countries, the relations between Moldova and the EU, the EU’s Eastern Partnership and regional issues in Moldova’s immediate neighbourhood.

The topics of discussion include development policy issues of current interest in eastern Europe. Moldova is one of the target countries of the Framework Programme for Finland’s Development Policy, the Wider Europe Initiative in Eastern Europe.

Alongside the official Moldovan delegation, a business delegation representing 40 companies will also arrive in Finland.

12/09/2011, The Moscow News

Clinton Moscow Talks to Cover start, Iran, Mideast

Secretary of State Hillary Clintonvisits Moscow next week for a meeting of the quartet of Middle East mediators and talks with Russian officials about arms control andIran's nuclear program.

The quartet, which groups the European Union, Russia, theUnited Nationsand the United States, gathers on March 19 as Washington is trying to revive indirect peace talks between Israel and thePalestiniansafter more than a year.

While the United States on Monday said both sides had agreed to such talks, Israel's announcement on Tuesday of plans to build 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem drew widespread condemnation and appears to have imperiled the negotiations.

Clinton is due to arrive in Moscow on Thursday and to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedevand Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Iran, which the United States accuses of seeking nuclear weapons, is expected to be the major subject during Clinton's Moscow talks. Iran has said its nuclear program is solely to generate electricity and other peaceful purposes.

Russia has worked to water down three previous U.N. Security Councilsanctions resolutions over Iran's nuclear programs but diplomats say it is much more open to punishing Iran now.

12/03/2010, The Moscow News

Cameron of Britain and Sarkozy of France Visit Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya – The leaders of Britain and France visited Libya on Thursday in a triumphal but heavily guarded tour intended to boost the country’s revolutionary leaders. Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who convened an international meeting two weeks ago in Paris in support of the new Libyan authorities, were the first world leaders to travel to the Libyan capital in the post-Qaddafi era. They pledged to keep up the NATO bombing – which their countries supervised – until the last of the Qaddafi forces surrendered.

The Cameron-Sarkozy visit also included a stop in the eastern city of Benghazi, where both were greeted warmly by residents. Both countries have interests in preserving potentially lucrative oil deals made under the Qaddafi government, and intend to compete for the contracts as part of the reconstruction and restoration of Libya’s infrastructure.

14/09/2011, The Washington Post