WASHINGTON, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - A U.S.-Russian forum on cooperation in various spheres, including the oil sector, opens Tuesday to address pressing issues in current bilateral relations, the president of the American University in Moscow said.
Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent weeks, and took a nosedive following a May 4 speech in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney that was widely seen in Russia as a prologue to a new cold war.
The World Russian Forum 2006 will bring together prominent Russian and American political experts, businessmen and public figures in the American capital for three days under the slogan "Towards Economic, Political and Military Alliance," said Edward Lozansky, who has organized the forum since the early 1980s.
Congressman Curt Weldon will deliver a keynote address to open a political discussion on the future of U.S.-Russian relations.
On May 18, participants will hold a series of panel discussions on cooperation in the sphere of culture, education and sciences.
