Russian government disturbed by mounting violence in Iraq

No Russian nationals were killed or injured in today's string of bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Alexander Yakovenko, official spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, reported at a RIA press conference.

According to Yakovenko, the Russian government considers the growing number of terrorist attacks in Iraq to be a highly disturbing trend. As officials in Moscow believe, Monday's blast outside the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad attests to the fact that the Coalition forces have so far failed to bring stability to the post-Saddam Iraq.

The new spiral of violence in the country yet again points to the necessity of rapidly forming an international peacekeeping force under UN leadership. This force should be tasked with restoring security in Iraq and rebuilding its economic infrastructure and political institutions, the Russian Foreign Ministry press officer pointed out.