MOSCOW, January 23, 2004. /RIA Novosti correspondent Sergei Zelentsov/. Russia will consider national interests in the ratification of the Kyoto protocol, "as well as the opinion of our foreign partners, including the European Union," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told a press conference in Moscow.
According to him, Russia comes out for the consolidation of multilateral mechanisms in all spheres. "Most serious contemporary problems should be solved in the framework of these mechanisms, first of all, the UN," Ivanov noted.
Today Moscow is examining the Kyoto protocol from the viewpoint of various consequences for Russia, in particular, its effect on Russia's economic development, Igor Ivanov said.
"This is not the issue of Russia-EU relations, this is a wider issue. It would be unfair to say that the launching of the Kyoto protocol depends on Russia. There are other countries which did not ratify it," Ivanov stressed.
