Moscow Describes as "Adequate" U.S. State Department's Report on Terrorism

Officials in Moscow believe that the U.S. State Department's new "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report, released on April 30, adequately reflects U.S.-Russian interaction in countering the terror threat, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoli Safonov said in a RIA Novosti interview.

Russian government officials are still studying and analysing the content of this voluminous document, Safonov said. To quote him, Moscow and Washington make collaborative counter-terrorism efforts not to keep up with the latest fashion, but to carry out the strategic task of ensuring stability and security in the world. He placed particular emphasis on the intense cooperation going on between Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying it was based upon mutual confidence.

Safonov mentioned further extension of the mandate for the U.S.-Russia Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, co-chaired by Richard Armitage and Vyacheslav Trubnikov. He also said that he would like the group to explore new possibilities for cooperation, thereby paving the way for "concerted, decisive measures" to stop the financing of terrorist activities.