Russian FM due in Washington

WASHINGTON: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives in Washington on Monday amid increasing tensions in US-Russia ties and scepticism among Moscow’s allies about its membership in the G8.

Lavrov is to meet US President George W Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday, with energy issues, Iran’s nuclear programme and the Middle East expected to top the agenda.

Meanwhile, a report released on Sunday by the non-profit Council on Foreign Relations said that 15 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, US-Russia relations were clearly moving in the wrong direction, with Bush promoting democracy and Russian President Vladimir Putin suppressing it. Russia experts said the upcoming G8 summit to be hosted by Moscow was the perfect venue for the US and its partners to re-evaluate relations with Moscow and raise a number of issues of concern. afp

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