Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac have again Spoken

A telephone conversation between the presidents of Russia and France - Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac - was held in the framework of regular consultations on the situation around Iraq, presidential press secretary Alexei Gromov told RIA Novosti.

Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac, he said, exchanged views on the results of the discussion, held since March 7, of the report made by UNMOVIC chief Hans Blix at the UN Security Council session.

It was noted with satisfaction that the conclusion made by Blix, which was confirmed in the opinion expressed by IAEA chief Mohamed El-Baradei, about the absence of any grounds for ending inspections in Iraq, was supported by the majority of the UN Security Council members.

In this connection Putin and Chirac again spoke in favor of a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iraq issue and continuing using effectively the UN in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which provides all possibilities for this.