Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 07, 2003
Russia, US Begin Talks on Iraq, Mideast in Moscow
Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns started talks in Moscow Thursday with Russian officials on Iraq's rehabilitation and settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns started talks in Moscow Thursday with Russian officials on Iraq's rehabilitation and settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The consultations between Burns, who arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov, will cover the issues of coordinated efforts in the Middle East, including work to rebuild Iraq, as well as settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Interfax news agency quoted sources from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the US embassy as saying.
Joint fight against terrorism, political, civil, humanitarian and economic aspects of the situation in Iraq, and the attainment of stability and prosperity in the Middle East as a whole, will also be included in their negotiations.
The two sides will also discuss possible elements of a new UN Security Council resolution on Iraq, including those reflecting the UN new role in rebuilding the country, said Interfax.
The "discussion in the Security Council last month and the report of the UN secretary-general open possibilities for buildingup the participation of the United Nations Organization in the process of restoration and settlement in Iraq," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Fedotov as saying.
The Russian diplomat expressed the hope that the "consultationsin Moscow will be useful and will allow us to make a concrete contribution to the enhancement of the role of the UN Security Council in the Iraqi settlement processes happening at present."