Russian Foreign Minister: It Is Important to Preserve International Unity When Solving Iraqi Problem

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov believes it important to preserve international unity. He said this upon his arrival in New York to take part in the UN Security Council session on Iraq due on Friday.

He pointed out that this session "should, above all, provide objective information on the work of international inspectors in Iraq." "Resolution 1441 was approved unanimously, and the main thing now is that it should be implemented in full scale," Ivanov said. He also stated that on Friday, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei would present information to the UN Security Council members on the progress in this area.

On the whole, Igor Ivanov stated, the international inspectors are working in compliance with this resolution. That is why their activity should be continued. "The international inspectors only can give an unbiased answer to the question whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or not," Ivanov said.

The minister is sure there are all options for solving the Iraqi problem by political means. At the present time, he believes, "it is necessary to do the utmost to preserve the unity of the international community for these purposes." Igor Ivanov is of the opinion that most states share Russia's stand in favour of the diplomatic solution to the problem. "The inspectors also have all the necessary conditions to continue their activity and give an unbiased answer to the question whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or not," the minister pointed out.

"We should unite rather than split. The task of the UN Security Council members is to demonstrate that they can solve this problem, Ivanov stressed.

He also believes that it is very important for the world community to solve other, more serious problems - combating terrorism, drug trafficking, organised crime and the proliferation of mass destruction weapons.

"Neither state can do this single-handedly, that is why these problems should be addressed jointly," the minister concluded.