OREANDA-NEWS. March 11, 2009. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Geneva on March 6.

During the talk, a thorough exchange of views took place on topical issues in Russian-US relations and international problems of mutual concern, above all, in context of the preparations for the upcoming first meeting of the Russian and US presidents in early April on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London. The sides highlighted as cooperation priorities the preparation of an accord to replace the START treaty, the fight against terrorism and WMD proliferation, the settlement of regional problems, particularly in Afghanistan and the Middle East, and a number of others. Implementation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s European Security Treaty initiative was touched on – including discussion prospects of this theme in the Russia-NATO Council, OSCE and on other (among them political science) platforms.

The interlocutors also touched on practical questions of bilateral relations, agreeing on the necessity to step up economic dialogue under state-structures and business auspices alike.

The regional dimension of relations also was discussed, including building up cooperation on both sides of the Bering Strait.

Northern problems were indicated as a promising theme of practical joint work, based on cooperation among the five Arctic coastal states via the Arctic Council, including on protection of the region’s fragile environment and cooperation in search and rescue at sea.

The necessity was emphasized of constructing bilateral dialogue on the basis of mutual respect and consideration of the interests of each other. The chief thing is that deeds should match words.