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Obama discusses situation in Libya with Medvedev
US President Barack Obama called his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the current situation in Libya and issues related to US-Russia relationship, the White House has said.
US President Barack Obama called his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the current situation in Libya and issues related to US-Russia relationship, the White House has said.
The two leaders agreed to meet in Deauville, France on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit at the end of May.
"The two presidents discussed developments in the Middle East at length, with a particular focus on Libya," the White House said, adding that Obama expressed his appreciation for Russia's support for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 and subsequent positive statements that Medvedev has made regarding the resolution's mandate.
Obama and Medvedev also discussed the new momentum in Russia's progress towards joining the World Trade Organisation this year.
"President Obama affirmed his support for Russia's accession into the WTO this year and also affirmed his commitment to work with the US Congress to terminate the application of Jackson-Vanik to Russia and establish Permanent Normalised Trade Relations with Russia," the White House said.
The Jackson-Vanik amendment is a provision in US federal law, adopted in 1974, intended to pressure the erstwhile Soviet Union to allow emigration.
The two leaders also discussed recent progress made in developing deeper cooperation on missile defence.
"Obama affirmed why the US believes that cooperation with Russia on missile defence could enhance the security of the United States, Russia, its allies, and its partners," the White House said.
