ST. PETERSBURG, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - The president of Russian Railways said Saturday that the rail monopoly could buy a stake in Germany's Deutsche Bahn AG, which the German government plans to privatize.

"I am not ruling this out. Why not become a minority shareholder if conditions allow," Vladimir Yakunin told journalists on the sidelines of an international economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city.

The German government plans to hold a partial privatization of Germany's state-run rail company this year. The Bundestag approved the move in late May which will allow 24.9% of DB shares to be sold.

"It is obvious to infrastructure companies in Russia and Europe that developing transport corridors is only possible through cooperation. This is major transport policy," the Russian official said.

The privatization process will see the passenger, freight and logistics operations being privatized, while the government will retain control of the country's network of tracks and stations.

Russian Railways and Deutsche Bahn signed an agreement last year to establish and manage a joint venture in transportation and logistics, which will become one of the elements of a strategy to build an integrated system aimed at attracting additional freight along the routes linking Western Europe, Russia, and China.