Russia And Australia Share High Level Of Mutual Understanding On Key Issues

Russia and Australia share a high level of mutual understanding on key issues of world and regional policy, first of all as regards countering international terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told journalists commenting on the results of his meeting with his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer. "We believe the world community should form a global system of rebuffing new threats and challenges on the basis of international law and coordinated by the UN in response to terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and in other parts of the world," Ivanov stressed. Moscow appreciates cooperation with Australian partners in the Asia-Pacific region, within the framework of regional structures, in particular, Ivanov noted. Besides, Russia and Australia have "a powerful potential for further expansion of bilateral cooperation, first of all in trade and economic and investment spheres," Ivanov said. The sides assign great importance to interaction in space sphere, the Russian Foreign Minister said.