Putin 'should work with West'
2007-10-15 12:20
Wiesbaden, Germany - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday urged President Vladimir Putin to work with Europe to find solutions to global problems at a time when Russia and the West are increasingly at odds.
Merkel called for "a close partnership built on mutual understanding" between Russia and Europe, in a speech to a German-Russian political conference in the spa city of Wiesbaden that Putin is attending.
"We can only solve the big global problems together. At the current time, we are talking a lot about Iran and the nuclear issue and about Kosovo," Merkel said.
"We are trying to work in an intelligent way towards constructive solutions. We cannot resolve conflicts if we work against each other.
"We can disagree with each other and still get on well with each other. We should not try to sweep our disagreements under the carpet, we should put them on the table."
Merkel said human rights, such as freedom of expression, were "essential to building understanding".
Rare visit
In his speech to the conference, called the Petersburg Dialogue, Putin said Russia was "well aware of our joint responsibility to strengthen strong and reliable relations and co-operation between European countries".
Putin and Merkel were to hold talks expected to focus on the growing mistrust between Moscow and the West, caused by opposing views on Iran's nuclear ambitions, US plans to build an anti-missile shield in eastern Europe and the future status of Kosovo.
The Russian president was due to leave Germany on Monday for a rare visit to Iran despite reports of a plot to assassinate him in Tehran.
Russia's Interfax news agency, citing a source in the special services, reported that a gang of suicide bombers would try to kill Putin in the Iranian capital on Tuesday.
A Kremlin spokesperson said: "We cannot comment on this information but we confirm that the president has been informed."
Putin made no comment on the reports when he arrived in Germany on Sunday.
Rice rejected Russia's call
Iran's foreign ministry reacted angrily to the reports, saying they were "completely without foundation" and insisted Putin's itinerary remained unchanged.
Putin's visit to Iran, the first by a Kremlin leader in three decades, comes at a vital time for the Islamic republic's controversial Russian-backed nuclear programme.
While the West fears Iran is using the power station to hide a covert nuclear weapons programme, Putin has rejected the claims and says he sees no threat from Tehran.
Merkel is expected to press him on Russian opposition to Western calls for new, tougher sanctions.
The meeting also comes after the US and Russia failed to make headway on US plans to site a missile defence system in two former Soviet states in eastern Europe.
In talks in Moscow on Friday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected a Russian call to freeze plans to locate 10 US interceptor missiles in Poland and a targeting radar in the Czech Republic.
Washington insists the missile shield is a response to the potential danger posed by nations like Iran, but Moscow fears it could be used against its missiles.
- AFP