Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov Speaks to Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshiyar Zibari by Telephone

Unofficial translation from Russian

PRESS RELEASE

A telephone conversation took place on May 8 between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, Hoshiyar Zibari.

They expressed mutual satisfaction with the results of the international conferences on Iraq held in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 3 and 4, and underscored the importance of these forums in terms of the reinforcement of the coordination of collective efforts by the world community to assist the soonest normalization in Iraq.

The ministers also thoroughly discussed problems in Russian-Iraqi relations, with emphasis on their commercial and economic component, and outlined steps for the further development of bilateral contacts in diverse fields.

Sergey Lavrov confirmed an invitation to his Iraqi counterpart to pay a working visit to Russia as soon as possible.

May 8, 2007