Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian on Wednesday met with a Russian congressman and expressed his concern about Russian arms sales to mainland China.
Chen told Congressman Karelin that Russian sales of advanced weapons have strengthened mainland Chinese military power in terms of both quantity and quality.
He expressed the hope that Moscow will exert caution on arms sales to mainland China so as not to endanger peace in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
During the talks held at the Presidential Office, Chen stressed the need for Taiwan and Russia to step up bilateral relations, especially in the shipping and aviation areas.
He also said he hopes that Russia will allow Taiwan to set up offices in Vladivostok and other major cities and upgrade personnel exchanges to the vice ministerial level.
The Russian congressman said that democracy is the common aspiration of people in Russia and Taiwan, and added that the development of bilateral ties should not be influenced by Beijing's pressure. Chen asked Karelin to invite more Russian lawmakers to visit Taipei.