Unofficial translation from Russian

Question: What questions were discussed in the course of your meeting with Colin Powell?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: In the course of the meeting with Colin Powell we discussed major international problems, in particular the situation in Iraq and the necessity of building up efforts with the aim of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1546. We concurred that the first consideration at this stage is the ensuring of national consensus in Iraq and we agreed to intensify international efforts for achieving this objective.

Of course, only the Iraqis themselves can do that. But Iraq's neighbors and the regional organizations, namely the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and members of the Group of Eight can well help the Iraqis overcome the existing problems and come to the upcoming elections next year with a program which will make it possible to secure a place for all the main political forces of Iraq in the bodies of power to be formed. This is an important point. Russia had from the outset advocated a political process in Iraq which would involve all the major groups - ethnic, political, cultural and religious. This task is being ever more shared now by major states. It is important that the Iraqis themselves support this in the person of the Interim Government of Iraq.

We also discussed the state of bilateral relations, and our cooperation both in questions of safeguarding global security and as regards the need to build up efforts in the struggle against terrorism. In this field our partnership is developing very effectively, we regard it as one of the key elements in building up the efforts of the counter-terrorist coalition.

Question: Is the United States ready to back the Russian proposals in this field?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: Yes, we have received a very positive response from our American interlocutors and other permanent members of the UN Security Council and G8 colleagues to the proposals to draft a new Council resolution and to take in other formats specific action which will be aimed at a substantive increase of the effectiveness of the cooperation of special services and other institutions of state authority at the national level in countering terrorism, in cutting off sources of financing for terrorism and in raising the degree of responsibility and inevitability of punishment for terrorists and their sponsors and financiers, all those who encourage this evil.

September 24, 2004