Answering whether the presidents of both countries had discussed the situation on the territory of CIS countries and the US and Russian policies there, Sergei Lavrov stated that "Russia declared on numerous occasions that it did not have a desire to establish a sole control over the CIS space, yet it had certain interests there."
He also underlined that "Russia would want all actions of its partners to be transparent not only on the CIS space, but also in other regions of the globe."
Answering the question posed by a RIA Novosti correspondent about the possible change of the format of the talks on North Korean nuclear program from six-sided to three-sided, Mr. Lavrov said, "None of the participants of the talks ever suggested the change of the existing format."
Mr. Lavrov also announced that during the meeting between US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the American side confirmed its interest in continuation of the talks in the current format and in the peaceful political settlement of North Korean problem.
The fourth round of talks, scheduled for September, was canceled due to the refusal of North Korea to participate. "I hope, though, that the fourth round will be conducted in the near future," the Russian minister said.
Speaking about Iranian nuclear programs, Mr. Lavrov pointed out that Russia did not possess any evidence indicating that Iran worked on the development of nuclear warheads for Iran's missiles.
"We do not have such information and this issue was not discussed at today's meeting with US President Bush," the Russian Foreign Minister emphasized.
Mr. Lavrov stressed that Russia and the United States generally agreed on the issue of nuclearnon-proliferation.
"We are against any violations of non-proliferation procedures. We are certainly against proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world," the minister said. He also underlined that Russia stood for the development of peaceful nuclear power industry in all countries.
"It is imperative that Iran observes all coordinated agreements and continues to cooperate with IAEA. In that case, the issue of Iranian nuclear programs will be discussed within the IAEA framework and according to established procedures," said Mr. Lavrov.
The Russian Foreign Minister categorically rejected the statements made by Georgian authorities about the involvement of Russian special services in the alleged preparation of subversive actions against Georgian power industry.
"As to the sphere of power industry, in the past, Moscow and Tbilisi coordinated the issue of the urgent reconstruction of the Inguri hydroelectric power station," Mr. Lavrov stressed.
He said that the agreements had been reached with Eduard Shevardnadze and later confirmed during the meeting between the Russian President and Mikhail Saakashvili.
"Yet these agreements has never been implemented for some reason," said the minister.
"I think the Georgian side should carry out the provisions of the agreements, instead of inventing some artificial reasons," Mr. Lavrov stressed.
