MOSCOW. Dec 17 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday will hold talks with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in Moscow.
"Talks between the heads of diplomacies are planned at which pressing items of the bilateral and international agendas will be discussed. The two ministers will also chair the 7th session of the committee for the strategy of Russian-Polish cooperation involving relevant officials from the ministries and agencies of the two countries most actively involved in developing bilateral relations," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has said.
Following the session the sides are expected to work out a medium-term strategy of further developing relations.
"The strategic committee will concentrate its attention on issues of advancing economic cooperation, including the energy and transport components, and the further promoting bilateral humanitarian ties, scientific, cultural, educational and youth exchanges," Lukashevich said.
Experts note that the issue of returning the fragments of the Polish presidential jet that crashed in Russia in April 2010 may be raised in the course of Russian-Polish contacts.
A few days ago Sikorski expressed Poland's intentions to demand that Russia return it the fragments of the jet through the head of European diplomacy Catherine Ashton.
He said that at the EU Foreign Affairs Council he submitted a request to Ashton that at the EU-Russia summit she would officially raise the question of the return of the fragments of the presidential Tu-154 airliner. As bilateral channels with Russia don't work, we are forced to bring the issue to an international level, he said.
Previously Sikorski discussed the problem of the return of fragments with Lavrov who said that they would remain in Russia until the completion of the investigation.
In its turn Moscow expressed bewilderment with the attempts of Warsaw to raise the issue of the return of fragments to the level of the Russia-EU summit.
Lukashevich said that Poland's proposal to raise the issue of the return of fragments at the December 21 summit in Brussels strongly bewildered Moscow.
He said that the question of returning the fragments can be considered only after the completion of all investigative procedures related to the air crash.
The Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 crashed near Smolensk on April 10, 2010. It was carrying a Polish official delegation by President Lech Kaczynski that was heading for commemoration ceremonies in Katyn. All 96 people aboard - 88 passengers and 8 crewmembers - died.