The President of the United States began the conversation by expressing his deep condolences regarding the tragic cruise ship accident on the Volga, which claimed many human victims.
During the conversation, the presidents discussed issues of bilateral cooperation with the goal of helping resolve regional and international problems. As the heads of state co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama exchanged views on the situation in Nagorno Karabakh settlement. The American President gave a high assessment to his Russian colleague’s efforts in this domain, particularly during a recent meeting with leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Kazan. At the same time, both sides expressed the intention to continue taking coordinated steps to help Baku and Yerevan find a peaceful resolution to the problem.
Mr Medvedev described the Russian side’s recent intensive activities in close coordination with the UN and African Union, supporting multilateral efforts to convert the crisis in Libya into a peaceful political dialogue. The Presidents confirmed their mutual intention to continue comparing positions on this and other international problems, particularly noting the good opportunity coming up during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s impending visit to Washington.
While engaging in a substantive exchange of views, the leaders also touched on other topics in Russian-American cooperation. Particular attention was given to the need to quickly complete coordination of positions on the Russian Federation’s accession to the WTO. Mr Medvedev and Mr Obama agreed to give the necessary push to the two nations’ negotiating teams, which will soon be required to present a corresponding report to the presidents.
Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama agreed to continue the practice of comparing notes to further deepen relations, which has proven quite positive.