Bonn, 14 March 1997 (RFE/RL) - The speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, Yegor Stroyev, who is visiting Bonn, held talks today with German Checnellor Helmut Kohl. In addition to European security issues, NATO's eastwards expansion and Russian President Boris Yeltsin's visit to Germany on April 17 and 18, bilateral issues were also discussed.
The German news agency DPA says the fate of Germany's cultural heritage that the Red Army forces confiscated at the end of the Second World War and transported back to the Soviet Union is also being discussed during Strojev's visit.
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel in talks with Strojev yesterday expressed concern about a Russian bill on cultural property. Stroyev's Federation Council has passed the bill in a bid to declare German art transported to Russia half a century ago to be Russian property. Kinkel says he hopes Yeltsin will not sign the bill into law.
The German news agency DPA says the fate of Germany's cultural heritage that the Red Army forces confiscated at the end of the Second World War and transported back to the Soviet Union is also being discussed during Strojev's visit.
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel in talks with Strojev yesterday expressed concern about a Russian bill on cultural property. Stroyev's Federation Council has passed the bill in a bid to declare German art transported to Russia half a century ago to be Russian property. Kinkel says he hopes Yeltsin will not sign the bill into law.