“We do not aspire to membership in the EU, but we are ready to cooperate in the spheres of economy and external security,” Mr. Lavrov said.

According to him, Russia is for a “gradual promotion of four freedoms: trade, services, capital and workforce”. Mr. Lavrov also said that Russia was ready for talks about visa-free travel.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke about equality in Russian-European relations. At a Russia-EU summit in May, Mr. Putin stressed that work should be done “in parallel”. “In our dialog, there should be no leaders and those being led,” the Russian President added.

At the same time, Mr. Lavrov said there were a number of problems in Russia-EU relations. In particular, the Kaliningrad transit issue was still unsettled. According to the Foreign Minister, the EU has not fully fulfilled its obligations in this sphere. To solve this problem, a separate bilateral agreement will be needed.

Consultations on military transit to the Kaliningrad region across Lithuania will start in Moscow in November 2004, said Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loshchinin.

According to him, a temporary agreement on military transit to Kaliningrad via Lithuania is currently in force. The agreement was signed in 1993, in connection with the withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany. “This document is extended on a temporary basis, and we do not have major problems implementing it,” Mr. Loshchinin said.

A draft of a new intergovernmental agreement on military transit was prepared in the autumn of 2003. “Lithuania does not reject the possibility to discuss and sign such an agreement, and expert consultations will start in Moscow in November. When the intergovernmental agreement is signed, will depend on the dynamics of these consultations and talks,” Mr. Loshchinin said.

Meanwhile, Russian citizens will need foreign passports to travel to Kaliningrad across Lithuania starting January 1, 2005. Visa-free travel of Russian citizens to/from the Kaliningrad region was introduced on July 1, 2003, but Lithuania will recognize internal Russian passports only until December 31, 2004.

The Russian Foreign Ministry continues work with the European Commission and Lithuania on the implementation of the Brussels agreement of November 11, 2002, on visa-free train services between Russia and Kaliningrad across Lithuania. Danish experts have developed technical and economic feasibility studies for a high-speed train service between Kaliningrad and Moscow, through Lithuania and Belarus. The documents are being studied by Russian officials. In addition, there are airline and ferry services between the Kaliningrad region and other Russian territories, not requiring foreign passports.