Russian Defense Minister: Anti-terrorist Coalition Has Already Formed

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov thinks that the international anti-terrorist coalition "has already formed". He noted Tuesday before starting negotiations with his British counterpart Geoffrey Hoon that combat against terrorism "will take quite a long period". "We have a common understanding that our combat against this 21st-century's evil must be long-term and conducted not exclusively by military means," said Ivanov. Ivanov told his British counterpart that his arrival in Russia only several days after the visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair testified to high potentiality of Russian-British interaction. According to Ivanov, the tragedy of September 11 and the events that followed it revealed that the two countries' defense ministries may cooperate more purposively in the spheres of combat against terrorism, nuclear arms non-proliferation, peacemaking activities, and for solution of other problems. "These principles are the basis of our relationship with NATO," the Russian minister stressed. Ivanov said that the sides would discuss a broad range of issues at the forthcoming expanded negotiations. They will not only include combat against terrorism, but also the condition and prospects of the Russian-British military cooperation.