Russian Ambassador To Jordan Affirms Russia's Active Role In The Region

2005-06-11

www.petra.gov.jo/nepras/ 2005/Jun/11/ 25665800.htm

Amman, June 11 (Petra-Jordan News Agency)--The Russian ambassador to Jordan Alexander Shein affirmed that the pivotal Russian role is still active in the Middle East and on the world level.

The ambassador said, in a statement to Jordan News Agency on the occasion of his country's national day, that Russian will assume the presidency of the G-8 next year, noting that his country is an active member in the International Quartet along with the United States, the UN and Europe, a fact which reflects the active role of Russia on the various contemporary causes on the world level.

"Russian is keen to develop its relations with Jordan in the various fields due to the historical ties between the two countries, their identical views on regional and international issues and the role played by Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II on the regional and international levels," Shein added.

The ambassador said that the summit meetings between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and His Majesty King Abdullah II stressed keenness of both sides to develop ties of cooperation in the various fields. "We deal with Jordan in a special and fruitful way and their is a continuous consultation and dialogue on the various levels on various topics in addition to the official dialogue and the exchange of parliamentary delegations between the two countries," he added.

On economic cooperation, Shein said that the volume of trade exchange between Jordan and Russia ranges between $30-40 million, noting that a cooperation agreement was signed between the chamber of industry and trade in both countries and that an agreement had been reached recently to form a Jordanian-Russian business council and to exchange trade delegations.

The ambassador expressed appreciation for the role of the Amman Message in explaining the image of Islam, indicating that his country will work to promote this message.

Russian, he said, will take part in an international conference in Amman on the Amman Message and religious co-existence.

On cooperation in the educational field, he said that the number of Jordanian students who have graduated from Russian universities exceeded 15,000, noting that the Russian government provides Jordan annually with more than 20 scholarships in higher education.

Regarding media cooperation between the two countries, he said that a delegation from the Russian Itar-Tass News Agency had visited Jordan News Agency recently and discussed fields of cooperation between the two sides.

On the political situation in the region, he said that both sides have similar views on the Palestinian issues, noting that Russian supports the establishment of a Palestinian state in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the road map peace plan.

On Iraq, he said that Russian supports the political processes in that country including the election, the formation of the new government and the process of conducting a referendum on the constitutions.

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis