He praised the Russian-German council as being rather successful compared to similar joint agencies with many other European countries and as being most effective in both organizational and investment-intensive projects.
He singled out environment monitoring projects in Krasnodar Territory (Southern Russia) and Astrakhan Region (the Lower Volga). "We are now promoting a joint landscape development project in the vicinity of Lake Baikal," said Stepankov.
Germany is also party to the Russian program for creating trans-frontier joint natural reserves with Mongolia and China. Besides, Germany plans to be involved in a Russian program for environmental protection on the Baltic coast, said the deputy minister. In accordance with the Helsinki convention on the protection of the marine environment of the Baltic sea, several "hot spots" with harmful waste into the air and water have been determined on the territory of Russia, he said. This applies above all to factories in St.Petersburg, Leningrad and Kaliningrad (the Russian exclave on the Baltic coast) regions. "Discussion is underway to build purification installations with German assistance," said Stepankov.
These projects as well as plans for the future are to be high on the agenda during a two-day session of the Russian-German coordinating council in Berlin, he said.
