New German foreign minister to make first Moscow visit Friday

Guido Westerwelle, Germany's new foreign minister, will make his inaugural visit to Russia on Friday for talks with his Russian counterpart, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

According to Andrei Nesterenko, the discussions between Westerwelle and Sergei Lavrov will focus on bilateral relations. He said both Moscow and Berlin were seeking to further enhance their bilateral partnership, which he said was "a positive factor in European policies and global affairs."

The two ministers would also fix a schedule of political contacts for the near future.

"On the back of incomplete unification processes on the continent, Russian-German rapprochement and partnership is becoming increasingly significant," Nesterenko said.

Russia is counting on Germany to promote the initiative of signing a new pan-European security pact put forward by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Berlin in the summer of 2008, Nesterenko said. Berlin could also help Moscow reset relations with NATO and develop mutually advantageous cooperation with the EU.

Westerwelle has been foreign minister for less than a month following the confirmation of Germany's new government coalition, in which his Free Democrats are the junior partner.

His first trip abroad was to Poland, which has long had difficult relations with both Germany and Russia, and the visit to Moscow will be his third to a non-EU capital, following stops in Washington and Berne.

Westerwelle and Lavrov will also discuss denuclearization, arms control, and the maintenance of strategic stability built on a balance between offensive and defensive arms, the Russian diplomat said.

Nesterenko said though bilateral trade was down from last year's record $68.2 billion due to the global economic crisis, Germany retained its status as a major Russian trade partner, ranked second after China.

He said the Nord Stream gas pipeline that would link the two countries under the Baltic Sea would also be a priority at the talks. The pipeline route has been approved by Denmark, Sweden and Finland, with only Russia and Germany still to sign off on the plan.

MOSCOW, November 18 (RIA Novosti)