Medvedev to meet with Biden on March 9
MOSCOW. March 2 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who will be in Moscow on a working visit, on March 9, the Kremlin said.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is due to meet with Biden on March 10, the Russian government's press office told Interfax.
Joe Biden will arrive in Moscow on a visit on March 9, Russian Presidential Aide Sergei Prikhodko said earlier.
"We consider this visit a landmark event in the preparations for the U.S. president's upcoming visit to Russia, which is scheduled for this year," Prikhodko told reporters on Tuesday.
The date of the U.S. president's visit has not been determined yet. "We would consider Joe Biden's visit to Moscow successful if the parties could announce the date of Barack Obama's visit. It would be a real result," the Kremlin official said.
The U.S. officials have expressed a desire to address issues related to Russia's accession to the WTO, missile defense, disarmament, and the work by the bilateral Medvedev-Obama commission during Biden's visit, Prikhodko said.
The parties also plan to exchange opinions on the events in the Middle East and their consequences for Russia and the U.S. and strategic stability in general. The presidential aide said the discussion will address the possible impact of these events on the global economic situation and the G8 summit scheduled to take place in Deauville, France.
Biden's visit was preceded by a visit by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, who has passed "a very good letter from Barack Obama to the Russian president."
