VLADIVOSTOK, DECEMBER 2 (FROM RIA NOVOSTI'S ALLA STAMBOLIDI, ANATOLY ILYUKHOV) - At a Friday meeting with Governor Sergei Darkin in Vladivostok (a major city in the Littoral Territory, on Russia's Pacific Coast), the visiting US Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow, cited American businesspeople's prediction of wider US-Russian contacts in the wake of the Bush-Putin summit. The Ambassador said that special emphasis should be laid on cooperation between small and medium-sized businesses. According to him, the Bush Administration will be encouraging American entrepreneurs willing to start a business in Russia. Speaking of the investment climate on the Russian Pacific Coast, Vershbow urged improvement in local legislation to bring it into line with international standards. The imperfection of local laws may scare off American investors, he warned. Governor Darkin believes that his region's business cooperation with the US should above all be based on investment projects in such spheres as forestry, fishery and biotechnologies. According to Darkin, the Littoral Territory is ready to consider some large-scale US investment projects without any privilege terms. Vershbow preceded his Vladivostok visit with a trip to Sakhalin, where he focused on American business' contribution to the implementation of local oil and gas projects.