Russian Foreign Minister to Discuss Situation Around Iraq and North Korea With US State Secretary

Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov will discuss the situation around Iraq and North Korea with US State Secretary Colin Powell.

Upon arriving in New York to take part in a special session of the UN Security Council on anti-terror problems Igor Ivanov told journalists that he was going to hold several bilateral meetings with his foreign colleagues, including US State Secretary Colin Powell.

The head of the Russian diplomatic department pointed out that he intended to discuss with his US colleague the urgent issues of bilateral relations and exchange opinions on some international problems, in particular the situation around Iraq and North Korea.

Answering the questions put by journalists and concerning the situation around Iraq, Igor Ivanov pointed out that Moscow waits for the UN Security Council session which will be held on January 27th and which will hear the reports of head of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspections (UNMOVIC) commission Hans Blix and IAEA head El-Baradei.

The Russian minister is of the opinion that over the two months of their stay in Iraq international inspectors have fulfilled serious work, and they should continue implementing their tasks.

The minister stressed that it is necessary to consider what steps the UN Security Council can still take so that their work was more efficient and they could answer the question whether Iraq possesses mass destruction weapons.