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Russian, Polish foreign ministers to talk missile defense, energy

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Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski arrives in Moscow on Tuesday for a two-day working visit to discuss European security, energy supplies and missile defense issues with his Russian counterpart.
MOSCOW/WARSAW, May 5 (RIA Novosti) - Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski arrives in Moscow on Tuesday for a two-day working visit to discuss European security, energy supplies and missile defense issues with his Russian counterpart.

"Moscow talks will be focused on the key aspects of international developments and European stability, including the Russian president's initiatives on the formation of a pan-European security pact," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

He added that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would raise the issue of international energy security in the light of Moscow's initiative to draw a new legal base for global energy cooperation.

"Russia will inform Poland in detail of its positions concerning the inadmissibility of attempts to integrate Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, flirting with the regime of [Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili, and plans to deploy U.S. missile defense in Poland," Nesterenko said.

Moscow has been at loggerheads with Washington over plans to deploy a missile defense system in Central Europe. The United States has signed agreements with the Czech Republic on hosting a radar station and with Poland on the deployment of 10 interceptor missiles by 2013.

Russia says the missile shield would be a threat to its national security while the United States has argued it is necessary to guard against the threat of missile attacks from states such as Iran.

Officials from almost 20 Russian and Polish departments will also discuss cooperation in the economy, energy security, science, culture, telecoms, the fight against crime, youth exchanges and tourism.

Nesterenko said Poland was Russia's largest trade partner in Eastern Europe, with bilateral trade reaching $27.2 billion in 2008, up 51.8% year-on-year, including $20.2 billion worth of exports, and $7 billion imports.

He added, however, that joint cooperation, investment and innovation projects were still insufficient in bilateral ties, and Russia was set to work with Polish partners to improve the situation.

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