LONDON. March 13 (Interfax) - British Foreign Secretary William Hague hopes that the 2+2 meeting due in London on Wednesday will nail down the progress reached in bilateral relations.
"The first UK-Russia 2+2 meeting is an important milestone in our relationship and shows the extent of our progress in developing a mature relationship at a senior level. We will hold a joint session for ministers to cover general security policy issues. Minister Lavrov and I will discuss major topical foreign policy issues such as Syria, Iran and the situation in North Africa," Hague said in an exclusive interview with Interfax.
"There have been many positive developments in UK-Russia relations since I became foreign secretary in 2010. The visits to Moscow by the prime minister in 2011, and to London by President Putin last year, demonstrate the strengthening of political contacts at the highest level," he said.
"It's only right that two fellow permanent UN Security Council members have a strong dialogue including on how we can collectively tackle difficult international issues, such as the Middle East, Iran and Afghanistan. Both countries should also continue to work together on trade between the countries, on science and innovation and on greater collaboration in higher education. I hope that our meeting on March 13 will help continue that progress in the relationship," Hague said.
The UK is positive about working with Russia during its presidency in G20 and the UK's presidency in G8 this year in order to ensure that both summits are held at a high level, he said. Noting that the G8 agenda will address three main issues - advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency.
Commenting on prospects of British-Russian commercial and investment cooperation, including in light of Russia's entry to the WTO, Hague said: "Russia is now the UK's eleventh largest export market with exports to Russia increasing faster than to any other major market."
"The UK was very supportive of Russia's accession to the WTO. We hope that this will stimulate increased EU exports to Russia, and according to the World Bank, the Russian economy will benefit from additional growth of up to $177 billion per year in the long term. We hope that Russia will now work quickly to implement the WTO commitments to which it has signed up," Hague said.
The full text of the interview will appear on www.interfax.ru, www.interfax.com and in the Kommersant daily.