Russia, India to Discuss Iraq & Korean Peninsula

Meeting in Moscow, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and India, Igor Ivanov and Jaswant Singh, will discuss settlement of the situation around Iraq and on the Korean Peninsula in connection with North Korea's nuclear program, Alexander Yakovenko, a Russian Foreign Ministry official spokesman, said in a RIA Novosti interview on Tuesday.

During Singh's upcoming visit to Russia on May 14-18, the sides will also discuss "bilateral cooperation in the effort to combat international terrorism and religious extremism and ensure strategic stability and international security," the spokesman went on.

Apart from that, they will consider "peaceful settlement in Afghanistan and the Mideastern situation, both in the context of adhering to corresponding resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and preserving the leading role of the UN." "The situation in South Asia will be discussed too," said the diplomat. "Moscow is now considering the statement Indian Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee made recently, that India was ready to restore diplomatic relations with Pakistan at the level of ambassadors and resume air communication between the two countries as an important step to normalize the situation in the region."