Russia not to restore Iraq until situation stabilizes there

Russia will be ready to take an active part in restoring Iraq's economy and political life after the situation in this country is stabilized, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov declared after a meeting of the joint board of the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries. Ivanov specified that Russia had a number of projects agreed to with Iraqi specialists. "As soon as the situation allows for their implementation, we will actively start this process," Ivanov said. Unfortunately, the recent terrorist attacks in Iraq testify to a very complicated situation there and it is too early to speak about problem settlement in this country, he added.

The minister pointed out that Russia and Belarus had a common position in respect to the future of Iraq. He emphasized that Moscow and Minsk believed that it was necessary to restore Iraq's sovereignty and engage the UN in the process of the country's restoration.