Dmitry Medvedev meets with President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in

Excerpts from the transcript:

Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President, I am glad to welcome you as part of your state visit to Russia.

You and I met in November 2017 in Manila during the East Asia Summit. Many things happened since then, not all of them negative. Your state visit has great importance in terms of Russian-Korean relations.

Tomorrow you are scheduled to have talks with President Putin, which will include the signing of documents coordinated by our two governments. Today, we have an opportunity to exchange some thoughts on economic, cultural and humanitarian ties, and a number of other urgent matters on our agenda, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Russia is now hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I wish your team success.

Moon Jae-in (via interpreter): First of all, let me congratulate on your re-appointment as Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

It gives me special pleasure to meet you after our last meeting in Manila on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, where we exchanged useful ideas on ways to expand practical cooperation and strengthen friendship between our people.

I have just addressed the State Duma of the Russian Federation. This was the first time in my country’s history that the Korean President spoke in the State Duma. It provided me with a special opportunity to share my views and vision of the future development of Korean-Russian relations with the people of Russia.

I would like to congratulate you on the success of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Congratulations to your team on winning its first and second matches with high scores, and on Russia being the first team to qualify for the Round of 16 stage. I wish the Russian team further success so that it goes beyond its previous best and reaches the final.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you.

Moon Jae-in: On my way back I intend to make a stop in Rostov-on-Don in order to support my country’s team.

I hope that the World Cup helps the people of our countries strengthen their friendship and trust. We did the same in PyeongChang by seeking to promote friendship during the Winter Olympics, which turned into a celebration of universal peace and harmony.

The new northern policy adopted by the Korean Government with the view to achieving peace and shared prosperity across the Eurasian continent is to a large extent similar to Russia’s policy to develop its Far East and Siberia. Proceeding from this premise, I believe that we are valuable and important partners to each other.

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