- Mar 22, 2004
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Putin, Rice Discuss How to Stabilize Iraq
2 hours, 4 minutes ago
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - Visiting U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) on Saturday discussed the next steps necessary to bring stability to Iraq (news - web sites), a country on which Washington and Moscow have rarely seen eye to eye.
AP Photo
The ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies quoted an unidentified Kremlin official as saying Rice brought Putin a letter from President Bush (news - web sites). The official did not discuss the letter's content.
But U.S. administration officials said Rice's trip focused on the scheduled June 30 transfer of power to an interim Iraqi administration and a new United Nations (news - web sites) resolution on Iraq.
"This whole trip is a discussion on Iraq and the way forward and all that entails ? a new U.N. Security Council resolution, increased international participation, the recognition of the interim Iraqi government and basically all the issues that involve the coalition forces being in Iraq," a senior U.S. administration official said Saturday on condition of anonymity.
Putin and Rice talked about "various issues relating to Russian-U.S. cooperation, as well as key international problems, including the situation around Iraq and in the Middle East," Putin's office said in a terse statement.
Sergei Karaganov, the head of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, an influential Russian think tank, said Putin likely would turn a sympathetic ear to Washington's call for support.
"Putin can help the Americans on Iraq," Karaganov said.
Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, also said Russia would likely be more receptive to U.S. initiatives than would many of Washington's allies in Europe.
"The Europeans are in deep shock after the Iraqi prisoners abuse scandal, while Russia has much stronger nerves," Lukyanov told The Associated Press.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met with Rice in Washington on the eve of her visit, said no drafts of a U.N. resolution on Iraq had been circulated yet, as the United States and Britain were still exchanging opinions with other U.N. Security Council members.
"I perceive that as a positive sign, since the United States and Britain, who are key proponents of a new resolution, are eager to listen to their partners in the U.N. Security Council," Lavrov said in comments posted Saturday on the Russian Foreign Ministry's Web site.
The U.S. government plans to hand over control to a caretaker Iraqi government, but the United States will continue to be responsible for security in the country.
Lavrov's deputy, Yuri Fedotov, said Friday that Russia is prepared to work toward the adoption of a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq, but it first wants an agreement on what steps should be taken to legitimize a new Iraqi government.
Fedotov added that Russia would not oppose the deployment of international forces in Iraq after June 30 as long as there was a clear U.N. mandate detailing their duties and length of stay.
Moscow strongly opposed the U.S.-led war against Iraq and has repeatedly called for a stronger U.N. role in the nation. It has proposed convening an international conference on Iraq under U.N. oversight, similar to the conference held on Afghanistan (news - web sites).
Rice, who arrived in Moscow on Friday, is set to leave for Berlin on Sunday.
On Saturday, she met separately with Putin chief of staff Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and the secretary of the presidential Security Council, Igor Ivanov. All her meetings were closed to the media.
Ivanov's office said he and Rice discussed the situation in Iraq, Middle East and Afghanistan and "voiced readiness for further coordination of efforts by Russia and the United States in the interests of political settlement in those crisis areas," according to a statement carried by the ITAR-Tass and Interfax.
The statement added that Ivanov and Rice also discussed nonproliferation efforts.
Cabinet spokesman Alexander Zharov later told ITAR-Tass that Fradkov informed Rice about Russia's economic reforms and they discussed trade and economic ties between the two nations.
Later in the day, Putin chaired a meeting of his Security Council that involved Medvedev, Fradkov, Ivanov and several other officials. ITAR-Tass said the discussion focused on various domestic and foreign policy issues.
Putin, Rice Discuss How to Stabilize Iraq
2 hours, 4 minutes ago
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - Visiting U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) on Saturday discussed the next steps necessary to bring stability to Iraq (news - web sites), a country on which Washington and Moscow have rarely seen eye to eye.
AP Photo
The ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies quoted an unidentified Kremlin official as saying Rice brought Putin a letter from President Bush (news - web sites). The official did not discuss the letter's content.
But U.S. administration officials said Rice's trip focused on the scheduled June 30 transfer of power to an interim Iraqi administration and a new United Nations (news - web sites) resolution on Iraq.
"This whole trip is a discussion on Iraq and the way forward and all that entails ? a new U.N. Security Council resolution, increased international participation, the recognition of the interim Iraqi government and basically all the issues that involve the coalition forces being in Iraq," a senior U.S. administration official said Saturday on condition of anonymity.
Putin and Rice talked about "various issues relating to Russian-U.S. cooperation, as well as key international problems, including the situation around Iraq and in the Middle East," Putin's office said in a terse statement.
Sergei Karaganov, the head of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, an influential Russian think tank, said Putin likely would turn a sympathetic ear to Washington's call for support.
"Putin can help the Americans on Iraq," Karaganov said.
Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, also said Russia would likely be more receptive to U.S. initiatives than would many of Washington's allies in Europe.
"The Europeans are in deep shock after the Iraqi prisoners abuse scandal, while Russia has much stronger nerves," Lukyanov told The Associated Press.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met with Rice in Washington on the eve of her visit, said no drafts of a U.N. resolution on Iraq had been circulated yet, as the United States and Britain were still exchanging opinions with other U.N. Security Council members.
"I perceive that as a positive sign, since the United States and Britain, who are key proponents of a new resolution, are eager to listen to their partners in the U.N. Security Council," Lavrov said in comments posted Saturday on the Russian Foreign Ministry's Web site.
The U.S. government plans to hand over control to a caretaker Iraqi government, but the United States will continue to be responsible for security in the country.
Lavrov's deputy, Yuri Fedotov, said Friday that Russia is prepared to work toward the adoption of a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq, but it first wants an agreement on what steps should be taken to legitimize a new Iraqi government.
Fedotov added that Russia would not oppose the deployment of international forces in Iraq after June 30 as long as there was a clear U.N. mandate detailing their duties and length of stay.
Moscow strongly opposed the U.S.-led war against Iraq and has repeatedly called for a stronger U.N. role in the nation. It has proposed convening an international conference on Iraq under U.N. oversight, similar to the conference held on Afghanistan (news - web sites).
Rice, who arrived in Moscow on Friday, is set to leave for Berlin on Sunday.
On Saturday, she met separately with Putin chief of staff Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and the secretary of the presidential Security Council, Igor Ivanov. All her meetings were closed to the media.
Ivanov's office said he and Rice discussed the situation in Iraq, Middle East and Afghanistan and "voiced readiness for further coordination of efforts by Russia and the United States in the interests of political settlement in those crisis areas," according to a statement carried by the ITAR-Tass and Interfax.
The statement added that Ivanov and Rice also discussed nonproliferation efforts.
Cabinet spokesman Alexander Zharov later told ITAR-Tass that Fradkov informed Rice about Russia's economic reforms and they discussed trade and economic ties between the two nations.
Later in the day, Putin chaired a meeting of his Security Council that involved Medvedev, Fradkov, Ivanov and several other officials. ITAR-Tass said the discussion focused on various domestic and foreign policy issues.
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