Leave Fiji alone: Russia

Fiji’s Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama met his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev at his official residence, Gorky House, on the outskirts of Moscow yesterday during which Medvedev said Fiji had the right to be left alone to map its own way forward without being dictated to by other countries.

Russia, he said, respected the sovereignty of every nation, big or small, and their right to decide on their development and their future.

Negotiations will also begin soon on a double taxation agreement and an air services agreement to establish air links between Moscow and Nadi and significantly boost the number of Russian tourists visiting Fiji.

The two leaders pledged to strengthen their bilateral relations and improve trade and economic ties. These were officially described as having been largely sporadic and uncoordinated in the past.

In his welcome statement, the Russian leader said he would like to see a celebration of the relationship between Russia and Fiji next year to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1974. To this end, he invited a Fijian delegation to visit Russia next August to mark the occasion.

Medvedev expressed the Russian Government’s continuing support for Fiji’s contribution to United Nations peacekeeping efforts. 182 Fijian troops left Fiji on Thursday to join the UN contingent in the Golan Heights. Medvedev said Russia wanted to pay particular attention to assisting Fiji with its UN peacekeeping deployments.

The Russian leader also accepted an invitation from the Fijian Prime Minister to send a senior representative to the summit meeting of the Pacific Islands Development Forum in Nadi in August. He indicated that his Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, would be the most likely official to lead the Russian delegation.

Prime Minister Bainimarama is scheduled to meet the Foreign Minister later today (Saturday).

-sourced from Fiji Govt