Russia's Medvedev hopes for success of G20 Washington summit

Russia's Medvedev hopes for success of G20 Washington summit (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - November 15, 2008: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday he was hopeful the G20 summit in Washington on the world financial crisis would be a success. "We have arrived in Washington to resolve complicated problems between our countries and other states. I hope good luck will favor us," Medvedev said at a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel was also positive about the G20 summit. "I proceed from the assumption that we will hold it successfully," she said. Speaking about Friday's EU-Russia summit in Nice, Merkel said she was very glad that "Russia-European Union cooperation is developing successfully." "I am glad we can strengthen it, and glad it is connected with the partnership and cooperation agreement," she said. At the summit in the French resort city, the EU and Russia agreed to restart talks on a new partnership and cooperation agreement. Medvedev hailed the end of the delay in the talks, which were frozen due to the five-day war between Russia and Georgia over breakaway South Ossetia in August, and Moscow's subsequent recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist Georgian republic, as independent states. Western powers were initially critical of Russia's reaction to Georgia's attack on the breakaway republic, but this stance has softened of late. The 27-nation European bloc said on Monday that talks on a partnership agreement, suspended on September 1, would resume later this month, despite opposition from Lithuania.