SHARM EL-SHEIKH, May 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister confirmed Friday that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will arrive in Moscow on an official visit in mid-May.
"In about 10 days Condoleezza Rice will arrive in Moscow, where we will discuss in detail what the presidents of our two countries will discuss [at this summer's G8 summit]," Sergei Lavrov said following his meeting with Rice at Egypt's resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which is hosting a two-day international conference on Iraq.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George Bush will have a bilateral meeting within the framework of the Group of Eight industrialized nations summit in Germany, scheduled for June 6-8.
"Today, we have discussed [in brief] issues that will be prepared for that meeting," the Russian minister said.
Rice's possible visit to Russia was first announced in mid-April by Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, who said then that the U.S. secretary of state might visit Moscow some time in May after the visit to Russia of U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
