President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President,
I am happy for this opportunity to meet with you and to talk with you on the sidelines of the summit here in Italy.
Recently, you and I have had a number of meetings, including your visit to the Russian Federation. I feel that this has given greater momentum to the relations between the Russian Federation and South Korea, and has taken our relations to a strategic level. We are working a great deal, and the increase in trade turnover between our countries serves as evidence of this. Of course, that was last year, and this year is more difficult; but nevertheless, the figures that our economies demonstrate are very good.
I believe that our goal now is to consolidate this progress and to exchange information on bilateral issues, such as current international problems, including security on the Korean peninsula.
Lee Myung-Bak (as translated): Mr President,
First, I would like to thank you for finding the time to meet with me here in Italy.
As you know, the relations between our two countries are developing very rapidly, not only in the economic sphere, but in other spheres as well, such as security and various global issues, including security on the Korean peninsula. I am very happy that the relations between our countries are constantly developing. Today, we do not have a lot of time, so I would like for us to share our views on matters of security on the Korean peninsula.
Dmitry Medvedev: Very well, Mr President, let’s discuss this issue.
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