Russian, Iraqi foreign ministers interested in Iraq conference
Interfax. Saturday, Jul. 24, 2004, 5:08 PM Moscow Time
MOSCOW. July 24 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Mahmud Zebari have confirmed their interest in holding an international conference on Iraq.
Lavrov said he "would like to note that the meeting confirmed the countries' interest in an international conference on Iraq," the minister told a news conference after his talks with Zebari in Moscow on Saturday.
Russia "supports the objectives of Iraq's provisional government outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 1546, which says that this political process should continue up to general elections in that country," he said.
"An international conference mechanism may make an important contribution to stability in the region," Lavrov said.
Lavrov said that security issues could be put on "the agenda of a suggested conference on Iraq."
Moscow hopes for cooperation on security issues between the Iraqi provisional government and the UN Security Council's counter-terrorism committee, "which Russia is currently chairing," he said.
"We hope this mechanism will prove instrumental is suppressing international terrorists who have entered Iraq over the past year," Lavrov said |
