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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Venezuelan Vice President Ramón Alonso Carrizales

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Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Vice President,
Colleagues,

Welcome. We are very happy to see you.

I am especially pleased that this visit happened shortly before a Venezuelan national holiday. Please accept my warmest greetings on the occasion. All the best to you personally and to all the people of Venezuela.

I am also happy to point out that your visit here is very successful. We are gradually transforming the high level of political interaction reached by our two countries' leaders into effective economic cooperation.

Unfortunately, our bilateral trade is not as high as we would like, but still there are good prospects and a solid potential to rely upon, something we have cultivated in the past few years. I am referring to power generation, mining industry and several other sectors of cooperation, including finance.

It is good that President Hugo Chavez, who is known as a friend of Russia, is personally supervising the development of our bilateral relations. We have recently spoke over the phone. Please take my best wishes to him.

Ramón Carrizales: (as translated): Mr Putin, we highly appreciate your finding the time to meet us here. President Chavez has asked me to give his best regards to you and to discuss, while here in Russia, the various issues which could accelerate the realisation of the agreements reached between our two countries.

I have been discussing them with my colleagues for the past three or four days within this context; all our proposals have been accepted for consideration by the Russian Government. We have also taken into account all your comments that require a prompt response.

Our cooperation is nearing a strategic level. This is extremely important. As you stressed earlier, this cooperation is maintained by our leaders, our Presidents. I have brought a letter for you from President Chavez; it is translated into Russian. Mr Chavez added a Russian postscript in his own hand there.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

* * *

In the wake of the Vladimir Putin - Ramón Carrizales talks, the two officials witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on establishing a Russian-Venezuelan Bank.