Reinfeldt and Bildt to meet Medvedev and Putin
Sweden's prime minister and foreign minister will hold talks in Moscow next week when troubled relations between the neighbour will be on the table.
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Relations have been clouded by fallout from the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt will travel to Moscow on March 9 to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the government said in a statement.
"On the agenda are Swedish-Russian relations, the Russian modernisation agenda, including the working conditions for Swedish companies in Russia, and human rights," it said.
"International issues like the UN climate talks and Afghanistan will also be discussed," it added.
Bildt has upset Moscow with comments over its human rights record and the Georgia war, which he compared to Hitler's invasion of central Europe.
Relations appeared to have been ironed out when Medvedev agreed to attend an EU summit in Stockholm last November, and Reinfeldt on Wednesday described Russia as "a large and important neighbour that we have every reason to have good relations with."
"Of course our relations were affected by the war in Georgia," he admitted in an interview with the TT news agency.
He pointed out that Sweden agreed with the European Union analysis that "both parties (in the war) were wrong and now must adhere to accords they have committed to."
"On that basis, we can improve our relations, which cover a wide array of areas," he said.
Last Updated (Wednesday, 03 March 2010 20:41)
























