Russian Children's Doctor Leonid Roshal and US Ambassador Discuss Rescuing Iraqi Children

The US Embassy in Moscow hosted a meeting between the famous Russian children's doctor, Leonid Roshal, and the US Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow, who discussed children's evacuation from Iraq, the US Embassy has reported. During the meeting they discussed a possibility of organising a "green corridor" to evacuate children from Baghdad and Basra, according to an Embassy spokesman.

The day before, Roshal was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the meeting the doctor informed the Head of State that he had discussed the creation of a "green corridor" with Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Abbas Khalaf. The diplomat presented a list including 95 children who needed medical help.

When speaking about the US side's standpoint on the issue, Roshal pointed out that the US Embassy in Moscow had expressed its interest in the proposal and sent a corresponding letter to Washington.

Moreover, on April 7th this issue will be discussed in the UNICEF and on April 9th-10th in the Council of Europe. The World Health Organisation has also joined the discussions, he added. Russia proposed to set up a co-ordination committee including representatives from all the above-mentioned organisations to resolve the issue of evacuating Iraqi children with the help of the Emergency Situations Ministry, Roshal recalled.