Copenhagen, Dec 18 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Copenhagen, where he arrived Thursday in order to take part in the UN climate change conference.
The Russian president told Saad Hariri he hoped they could discuss “not only climate-related issues, but also issues of… bilateral relations” during their stay in the Danish capital.
Saad Hariri said that Dmitry Medvedev’s decision to meet with the Lebanese delegation showed Russia’s interest in developing bilateral cooperation with his country.
After the meeting with Hariri, Medvedev headed to an unplanned meeting of heads of state and delegations of countries – participants of the Copenhagen climate talks.
The 15th UN climate change conference began in the Danish capital Dec 7.
Friday is the final day of the talks, which bring together about 15,000 participants from 192 countries. However, negotiators have so far failed to reach an agreement on how to fight climate change.
US Secretary Hillary Clinton told participants of the Copenhagen talks Thursday that time is running out for the international community to address the issue of global warming
On Monday, Medvedev announced that Russia would restrict its greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent of 1990 levels by 2020.
The president wrote on his blog that Russia could reduce the release of 30 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year by enhancing its energy and environmental efficiency through economic modernization based on energy-saving technology and the development of renewable energy sources.
