Dmitry Medvedev met first with the European Union’s leaders – President of France Nicholas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and Secretary General of the European Council Javier Solana in narrow format. They were later joined by their delegations.
The agenda focused on three sets of issues: bilateral cooperation between Russia and the EU, the global financial crisis, and Euro-Atlantic security, including the Russian President’s initiative to conclude a new European security treaty. In the context of the future European security architecture, the missile defence issue was raised, as was the situation in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia.
At the end of the summit, Mr Medvedev, as head of the Russian delegation, and the EU representatives, Mr Sarkozy and Mr Barroso, gave a joint press conference.