The meeting between the Russian, German and French heads of state was held in one of the oldest royal castles in France, 80 km northeast of Paris on the Oise river in the Picardie region.
Following their talks, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Jacques Chirac gave a joint press conference during which the President of Russia declared that the three parties hold very similar positions on basic foreign policy issues. Vladimir Putin considers the tripartite format to be a good and reliable mechanism to coordinate approaches and develop joint initiatives in the spirit of their strategic partnership.
The concrete issues raised at the press conference include the diversification of deliveries of Russian energy resources, the possibility of Russia helping restore infrastructure in Lebanon, international cooperation in aerospace, including the possibility of Russia participating in the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and other issues.
The transcript of the press conference will be published.