Putin, de Kirchner to sign statement on comprehensive strategic partnership

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will have talks with visiting Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in the Kremlin on Thursday. The talks are expected to yield about 20 cooperation documents. The two leaders will put their signatures under a statement on establishing comprehensive strategic partnership.

"The document is geared to raise the level of bilateral relations, Russian president’s aide Yuri Ushakov said, adding that the new status of relations between the two countries would be confirmed by a package of documents prepared for signing. These documents include an agreement between the two countries’ defence ministers that sets parameters and basic guidelines of bilateral military cooperation; an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the area of environment protection; an agreement on cooperation in the area of the fight against illegal drug trafficking. Other documents cover such sectors as industry, agriculture, energy, culture, space research, investment and banking.

Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom is expected to sign a memorandum with its Argentinian colleagues. The memorandum is to open possibilities for Russia to build nuclear plants in Argentina. Ushakov noted that Rosatom was interested in being engaged in the construction of the sixth unit of the Atucha nuclear power plant in Argentina.

The presidential aide said energy-related issues would be a vital topic for discussion at the negotiations between the Russian and Argentinian presidents. As an example he cited Russia’s Power Machines long-term contract for the production and supplies of turbines for the Punta Negra hydropower plant. Apart from that, he said a consortium with the participation of Russia’s INTER RAO-Export had won a tender for the turn-key construction of the Chiuido-1 hydropower plant. Russian investments would reach 1.9 million U.S. dollars. The Russian company, according to Ushakov, expressed readiness to take part in a tender for the Chiuido-2 projects in the province of Nuequen.

http://tass.ru/en/russia/791164