"It is gratifying to note that we have restored the cooperation format between the Russian Government and the European Commission. We have held two meetings in this format, in 2004 and 2005."
"Russia is the EU's third-largest trading partner after the United States and China. We are the EU's fourth-largest supplier. During the past year, Russia imported more than 100 billion euros worth of goods from the EU. This is a significant amount in international economic relations, which is why our consultations are obviously important."
Events for 5 february 2009
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev
"We have many common interests, and many large, important projects spearheaded into the future, in addition to the traditional space exploration projects. We have also many other spheres of interaction, such as power generation and engineering. Power generation implies not only hydrocarbons but also electricity and nuclear generation. In short, we have joint projects and plans in almost every sphere."
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a Government meeting
"In the next few months, the state will considerably increase the share of its participation in the banking capital of the second level. This primarily applies to private commercial banks. I'd like to stress once again that I'm talking about the second level, that is, so-called subordinated loans. They are given for a long term and cannot be recalled ahead of time. For this reason, banks register them as their capital. However, creditors do not have the right to take part in administering banks; the ownership of banks does not change, either."
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov
"Major projects in nuclear energy, hydrocarbon development, including the well-known South Stream project, have attained particular significance. I think we'll be able to discuss all these issues."
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of Vneshekonombank (VEB) Supervisory Board
"Under the law and memo on fiscal policy, one of the priority tasks of the Bank of Development is to support small and medium-size business. This primarily applies to companies that are operating in production, introducing new technologies, and creating jobs. As we understand, this is particularly urgent today."
