OREANDA-NEWS. July 15, 2011. During his visit to Washington, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov was received on July 13 by President Barack Obama of the United States and held talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The heads of the foreign affairs agencies discussed a wide range of topical bilateral issues, particularly in regard to a schedule of upcoming political contacts at the Summit and other high level meetings.

As the coordinators of the Russian-American Presidential Commission, Lavrov and Clinton took stock of the activities of its 18 working groups and reviewed the process of shaping two new working groups, on innovation and legal issues.

The Ministers examined in detail the situation in the multilateral discussions on Russia’s accession to the WTO and refined approaches to resolving the outstanding issues.

Much attention was devoted to discussing issues of strategic stability in the context of implementing the New START Treaty and looking for mutually acceptable solutions in the field of missile defense. Topics of conventional arms in Europe were substantively addressed.

Lavrov accentuated a number of bilateral issues that cause us serious concern, including repeated arrests of Russian citizens in third countries at the request of US law enforcement agencies, as well as denials of US visas to Russian officials, business representatives and members of the public.

In exchanging views on international issues, the main focus was on the situations in Libya, Afghanistan, Sudan, events in Syria and some other countries in the region, Iran's nuclear program, as well as the prospects for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement in the context of the outcome of the meeting of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators in Washington on July 11, 2011.

There was a keen discussion on the prospects of Russian-US and international cooperation in the Arctic, including the Bering Strait area, and in the Antarctic.

At the conclusion of the visit, Foreign Minister Lavrov and Secretary Clinton signed a number of bilateral documents, among them the Agreement between Russia and the US Regarding Cooperation in Adoption of Children, and the Protocol Extending and Amending the Bilateral Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in Research on Radiation Effects. The Ministers also exchanged notes on the entry into force of the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Agreement.

They discussed progress on the agreements on visa facilitation and on the protection of Russian cultural properties moved to the United States as part of exhibitions.

On July 12, Foreign Minister Lavrov visited the US Senate. The conversation with US lawmakers focused mainly on the situations in Libya, Syria and other Arab countries, in the Middle East peace process, and on a range of bilateral issues. Lavrov urged that US senators expeditiously remove artificial barriers in the economic cooperation of our two countries, including in anticipation of Russia's accession to the WTO.

The same day the Minister met with representatives of organizations of Russian compatriots in the United States. A detailed discussion took place about the life of the Russian diaspora, with emphasis on the importance of strengthening its spiritual and cultural ties with its homeland. The Minister spoke in detail about the new possibilities in this area under the auspices of the Government Commission on the Affairs of Compatriots Abroad, including the envisaged projects under the corresponding state program for the years 2012-2014.

On July 12, Sergey Lavrov spoke at the Russian Embassy in Washington to members of US political circles, the public and the diplomatic corps. The Minister visited the studio of the radio station “Voice of Russia” opened in May 2011, where he gave an interview on topical issues in Russian-American and international relations, as well as the Washington bureau of the television channel “Russia Today.”