Transcript of Putin's Press Conference

The Genoa summit

[Moderator] (?The person) in the fourth row.

[Question] (Amrad el-Hamid), Kuwaiti television. Mr President, will the Middle East crisis and the Persian Gulf situation be on the agenda for the Genoa summit? And will Russia be putting forward any initiatives at that summit? Thank you very much.

[Putin] As you know, the main things to be discussed in Genoa will be primarily matters of human concern in the broadest sense. The leaders of the Eight have reached agreement in principle to devote their discussion mainly - to concentrate mainly on nonpolitical issues such as combating poverty and combating diseases which pose a particular threat to mankind, as well as a number of other humanitarian, technological or technical issues - alternative fuel sources, foodstuffs and their safety, the human genome and everything concerned with that, in the sense of the possible cloning of tissues or even of humans, and the moral aspects of these matters.

As for political matters, in particular those involving crises, I imagine that the bilateral contacts will provide opportunities for free discussion outside the framework of the officially planned debate, and of course these problems - including the Middle East question, the conflicts in the Middle East, the problem of Iraq - are very likely to be discussed.