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Powell, Ivanov Reaffirm Willingness to Boost Bilateral Relations
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said here Thursday that the US and Russia are willing to boost bilateral relations recently marred by the mutual expulsion of diplomats accused of spying activities.
Powell and Ivanov, who arrived in Paris Wednesday for the ministerial meeting of the Group of Contact on ex-Yugoslavia, had a two-hour meeting Thursday morning.
"We have said clearly that we both wish to turn over that page," said Ivanov, referring to the spy row.
"We have gone beyond that stage," Powell said, adding that he has invited Ivanov to visit Washington in May to discuss strategic and defense issues, particularly the national missile defense (NMD) system that the US insists on deploying despite strong opposition from Russia and other nations in the world.
It will be the first visit of a Russian foreign minister to Washington since US President George W. Bush came to power with a new and republican administration.
Powell and Ivanov told reporters that both Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, expressed their wish that they could meet before the G-8 (seven most industralized nations plus Russia) summit in July in Genova, Italy.
However, the two presidents have a heavy agenda in the coming months, they said.
A high-level Washington-Moscow working group over Afghanistan issues will be reactivated, the two chief diplomats announced.
Powell told reporters that Washington is not happy with Moscow's intention to resume sales of conventional weapons and its cooperation with Iran in the nuclear industry.
"We had a good discussion over weapon sales to Iran. Mr. Ivanov is quite aware of our concerns," said Powell.
He declared that Washington does not plan to continue the mechanism of bilateral dialogue set up by former US vice president Al Gore and former Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.
Washington will keep high-level dialogue with Russia through "a variety of contacts," he said.
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