Russian Foreign Minister Meets Powell, Belarus, Poland, Syria Counterparts In N.Y.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov held meetings, Sunday, with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his other counterparts, Syria's Faruq al-Shar'a, Poland's Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, and Belarus' Mikhail Khvostov during the 56th United Nations General Assembly Session. Sources in the Russian delegation told RIA Novosti that exchange of views on Mideast settlement topped the agenda of the meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister. The two ministers stressed the importance of a "complex approach" to the problems in question based on UN Security Council resolutions and Madrid Process accords. They noted the need for settlement on every track of the Mideast peace process. When meeting with Cimoszewicz, Ivanov discussed development of bilateral ties and preparation of the summit meeting scheduled for next January. The two men stressed the need "to give extra impulse to the development of the trade and economic ties, especially given the positive trends in the Russian economy." In addition, the ministers looked into the issue of logistics support for Russia's Baltic enclave Kaliningrad. They stressed the importance of both Lithuania and Poland's contribution to the issue. Another item on the agenda was the need to ease the visa regime between Poland and Russia.