Printer Friendly Page

Alexander Yakovenko, the Official Spokesman of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Answers a Question on President George W. Bush's State of the Union Speech

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

January 29, 2003

Question: How would you comment on President George W. Bush's State of the Union Speech in the US Congress?

Answer: First of all, one should note the special emphasis made in the Bush message on the need for an uncompromising struggle against one of the chief threats of today, which international terrorism represents. We support the thesis that to counter terrorism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and other global security challenges a determined pooling of efforts by the entire world community is necessary. Russia and the US are partners in this struggle. Of course, we do not always identically assess particular sources of threats, but we do regard close Russian-American cooperation as an imperative in tackling the common tasks of ensuring security and stability in the world.

With regard to a resolution of the situation around Iraq, we are guided by the principles of international law and the prerogatives of the United Nations Security Council; as before, we do not see any grounds for any use of force. The potential of political-diplomatic settlement has not been exhausted, and we believe that the international inspectors need to be given an opportunity to continue their work. Of course, we will be prepared to listen attentively to, and analyze the additional information, which the US Secretary of State is planning to submit to the UNSC.