Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a RIA interview Wednesday that the trip would provide Mr Lavrov with an opportunity to work for the revival of the Roadmap on the ground.
According to Yakovenko, the past year has not brought the conflicting sides any closer to peace, and the Road Map, launched in May 2003, has been blocked since last fall.
During his Mideastern tour, scheduled for September 3 through 7, the Russian Foreign Minister will meet with senior government officials in Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria to reemphasize to them once again that the Mideast Quartet of mediators including Russia, the U.S., the EC and the UN, remains the most effective instrument of international assistance in bringing an end to violence in the region.
Iraq will also be prominent on Mr Lavrov's agenda, Yakovenko said. According to him, Russia wants Iraq to preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty and to fully reintegrate into the world community. The Russian side is determined "to make a tangible contribution to the attainment of these goals and to help the Iraqi people in the postwar reconstruction of their country," our interviewee said. This is why during his trip to the Middle East, Mr Lavrov will discuss with regional leaders the possibility of stepping up international assistance for the Iraqi people on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and of holding an international conference on Iraq, he added.
Other topical regional issues will also be under discussion, Yakovenko said. Thus, Lavrov is going to reiterate Russia's principled stance on terrorism and to call on his partners to rally in the face of the terrorist threat. A lot of attention will be paid to issues of regional security, specifically the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and prospects for making the Middle East WMD-free, announced the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman.
