George Bush: new relations with Russia will be a priority next year

US President George Bush has given an interview to US News and World Report magazine, in which he commented on the results of this year and the prospects for next year. The US President believes that the peace cause will prevail on the global scene in 2003, and the USA is ready to achieve this together with its friends and allies.

George Bush said that the main challenge in 2003 would be the war on terror and Al-Qaeda. He also pointed to the importance of preserving the integrity of the international anti-terrorist coalition.

Mr Bush said Iraq would be the second stage of the war against terrorism and expressed his hope that Baghdad would meet the disarmament demands, otherwise the US would form a coalition to attain this goal.

The situation around North Korea will constitute a great global problem next year. In this connection, Bush said that this is a moment when we can establish new relations with former adversaries, primarily with Russia and China and to strengthen the alliance with North Korea and Japan.

George Bush said that the US foreign policy would be peace-oriented and handle a number of issues in different ways depending on circumstances in 2003.