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Putin, EU leaders to discuss bilateral cooperation matters

The official part of the summit will begin with a plenary session

MOSCOW, June 4 (Itar-Tass) —— President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of the European Union meet in St Petersburg at the RF-EU 29th summit, the official part of which begins on Monday morning.

The EU delegation is led by European Council President Herman van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Several high officials of the EU, among them Catherine Ashton, EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will join them in discussions. Such talks are held regularly, once in six months, and have developed established traditions and a protocol.

According to presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the official part of the summit will begin with a plenary session, which will be fully devoted to a discussion of bilateral cooperation matters. These include the formation of common spaces, and work on a new basic agreement.

A working luncheon will ensue. It will traditionally deal with the international agenda. Ushakov expects that such themes as North Africa, the Middle East, Syria, Libya, Iran's nuclear programme, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula will be touched upon. The summit will end with a news conference.

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