Russia and US intend to step up bilateral cooperation to combat terror

Russia and the United States will step up bilateral cooperation in various spheres to combat terror, including preventing weapons of mass destruction from getting into terrorists' hands. The statement is part of the official report made on Tuesday following a meeting of a bilateral subgroup on weapons of mass destruction held in Geneva on October 12. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Safronov and the US State Department Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism, Ambassador Francis Taylor attended the meeting.

According to the report, having discussed "the on-going bilateral cooperation to clamp down on terrorists using weapons of mass destruction", the two sides "agreed that further cooperation between Russia and the United States in that field was necessary to eliminate the threat.

In the framework of the meeting the two sides' technical experts exchanged information on specific programs on cooperation, including specialists from the Russian Nuclear Ministry and the US Department of Energy.

According to the agreement, next meeting will be held within the framework of the Russian-American counter-terrorism workgroup, co-chaired by the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia and the US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage.