Top American Diplomat Came To Moscow For Consultations

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage arrived Wednesday in Moscow to take part in the regular meeting of the Russian-American working group for countering the threats from Afghanistan. The decision to meet in Moscow was reached during the Shanghai talks between the heads of the two countries' foreign policy in October. Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov is the head of the Russian delegation. Issues of combating international terrorism, anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, and future political settlement in this country are due to be discussed during the consultations. Moscow and Washington are known to have similar approaches to the future of Afghanistan, advocating UN's leading role in the process and participation of all ethnic groups in the coalition government of Afghanistan. The last session of the working group was held on September 19 in Moscow, soon after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. It was decided during the meeting to increase joint and parallel efforts to counter the threats coming from Afghanistan, in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution #1333. The parties underlined that this combat "should not be one-time and spontaneous, but have a complex and long-term basis."