Talks Underway In US State Dept Between Ivanov And Powell

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell are now negotiating in the US State Department in Washington, D.C. Upon arrival in the US capital on Wednesday, Ivanov informed journalists that these negotiations would be a "synchronization of watches" before the Putin-Bush summit that Moscow and Washington attach significance to. In connection with this meeting's preparation there is still "work to be done with texts of possible joint statements," he stressed. Strategic stability issues will be discussed during the talks, including the NMD problem, the situation in hot spots, as well as issues of Russian-American trade and economic cooperation. The Russian minister stressed as well that at his meeting with Colin Powell Russia-US cooperation in the sphere of fighting international terrorism will be discussed, including the "problem of Afghanistan's future state structure."