The German Chancellor welcomed President Putin at the airport, and then two leaders went to Mr Schroeder’s Hanover flat for the talks.
Answering journalists’ questions after the meeting, Mr Putin praised the decisions made at the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan. He said it was an optimal result, although a situation in which everyone is 100% happy could never be achieved.
The Federal Chancellor for his part stressed the importance of implementing the Bonn decisions and the UN passing the relevant resolutions.
The two leaders also discussed energy issues. Mr Putin told Mr Schroeder about the Russian position regarding the oil market and oil prices. He confirmed that Russia was ready to ensure stable supplies of energy to Europe and to the Federal Republic.
Both leaders expressed serious concern over the situation in the Middle East. They believe it is important to bring pressure on the parties to the conflict to secure a resumption of the peace process in the region.
Mr Schroeder stressed the attention paid during the talk to bilateral relations, which he described as problem-free. The main topic of discussion was trade and economic relations, which are in the uptrend. The German Chancellor expressed the hope that they would continue developing successfully.