He was repeating a conclusion made by last Sunday's St. Petersburg session of an expert council for Kalinnigrad Region developmental issues. The session brought together economic and political experts, educationists and spokesmen for the Kaliningrad business community.
A wide range of local developmental problems came under debate, the regional status among them. The entire gathering came to one conclusion-the exclave needs its status changed, for instance, to an overseas territory's, said the envoy.
The world can offer many instances of that status, Europe being no exception. It is a special, even extraordinary status. It not merely fixes the situation of an area geographically remote from mainland-it also shows the way to make up for the distance. In this particular instance, the matter is of vital concern to Russian nationals, stressed Mr. Klebanov.
All these are mere recommendations. They are to reach the ad hoc team for the Kaliningrad Region to carry on the debates. "I, for my part, don't want to be too quick to offer my personal opinion on the issue," added the presidential envoy.
