Dutch Queen Beatrix Meets Russian President

Her plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport at about 2:00 p.m., Moscow time. The Queen was welcomed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Avdeev. Queen Beatrix has met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin today. According to the Dutch Constitution, the monarch is not entitled to negotiate foreign policy or economical issues, so the conversation between Queen Beatrix and President Putin has focused on some prospects of bilateral relations and cultural links between Russia and the Netherlands. At the end of the talks the foreign ministers have signed a programme on bilateral cooperation in the spheres of politics, economy and public relations for 2001-2003. Queen Beatrix will also visit San Petersburg and Nijny Novgorod during her Russian trip.The Russian president has also received an invitation from the Queen to visit the Netherlands in 2002.Queen Beatrix, 63, came to the throne in 1980. She visited Russia in 1973 as a princes.