"We came to a conclusion that our partnership was making due progress on all aspects. Russia is not in any debt or lagging behind, and has ever outrun many on particular themes, as our partners pointed out," said Andrei Fursenko, Russia's Education and Research Minister, as he was summing up the event for Novosti.
The CERN has among its priority projects a big andronic collider, 27 kilometre elementary particle accelerator lying a hundred metres underground. Scheduled for commissioning by the start of 2007, science is pinning great hopes on the collider-it is expected to help with the tentative discovery of the Higgs' boson, a particle regarded to cause the appearance of mass in the Universe.
Dominating yesterday's Geneva agenda was Russian contribution to collider construction, and eventual obtaining and procession of its research results. Though not a CERN member officially, Russia is active on its experimental endeavours, in which close on a thousand Russian scientists are employed.
"The collider is among pivotal projects for the CERN and Russia alike. Both Parties were at one on that point. We agreed on several alleys of partnership. Thus, current Russian participation in the efforts will qualify as practical contribution to recompense further expenditures on our experts' work," said Mr. Fursenko.
Russia and the CERN made a principled understanding to further formalise their contacts, added the minister.
The negotiators discussed routine organisation and finance, and the educational potential of the collider project. They came to a resolution to launch a target programme on which Russia's foremost higher educational establishments-such as the Moscow Physical Engineering Institute, or MIFI, and the Moscow State University-will enhance contribution to CERN-based international projects, in which European research and educational institutions are taking part.
"We paid major attention to the involvement of undergraduates and young researchers in CERN works, and the use of CERN as research/education integration centre. We agreed for closer contacts in that field."
The Russia-CERN joint committee scheduled its nearest session for April next, Russia hosting, added Andrei Fursenko.
