SOCHI, August 18 (RIA Novosti)-Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was in favor of holding a new conference on Iraq.
Following a meeting with King of Jordan Abdullah II, the president said he was convinced that the international community had to step up its efforts and that the format of the Sharm el Sheikh conference in 2004 was worth pursuing.
"We believe that holding a new international conference of this sort by the end of this year would give a boost to normalizing the situation," Putin said.
The president said that all the main religious and ethnic groups, including oppositionist forces and political parties, should contribute to the dialogue within the country.
He said this was even more important given that work was under way to hold elections in Iraq.
Putin said he supported the efforts of King Abdullah II of Jordan to stabilize the situation in Iraq and said Russia was ready to do everything to attain this goal.
