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Russia confirms EU summit venue site near China border
Apr 29, 2009, 14:43 GMT
Moscow - Russia on Wednesday confirmed that the venue of the May 21-22 summit with the European Union is to be held in the remote city of Khabarovsk, close to the border with China.
Foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko confirmed the venue, according to the Interfax agency, which is located some 8,500 kilometres east of Moscow and a 10-hour flight from Brussels.
The summit is to deal with a new partnership accord between the EU and Russia, with such top participants as Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and the head of the rotating EU presidency, Czech President Vaclav Klaus.
Medvedev chose the Far Eastern venue in what he said was meant 'to underscore Russia's size' to the EU.
But Brussels diplomats are critical of the location, pointing to the extra effort necessary for attending it. Now the EU council presidency aims to use the occasion for an EU delegation to travel on to Seoul for meetings with the South Korean government.
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