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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Lavrov: During the meeting between the President of Russia and the Secretary-General of the United Nations cooperation on a wide range of international issues was discussed.
President Medvedev noted Russia’s consistent non-opportunist position of support for the United Nations, and for the gradual strengthening of the legal frameworks for its activities in strict compliance with the UN Charter.
The necessity of strict observance of United Nations’ mandates, particularly in situations that involve the use of force, as well as the issue of clearer wording for those mandates were discussed in detail.
Certainly, Secretary-General and President of Russia exchanged detailed opinions on the situations in Libya, Yemen, Ivory Coast and some other states in the Middle East and North Africa, and discussed the long-standing matter of renewing six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
Much attention was paid to the lessons of the terrible accident at Japanese nuclear power station Fukushima-1. President Medvedev and Mr Ban Ki-moon were united in the opinion that, in addition to overcoming the consequences of the disaster, new higher safety standards and universal response regulations, based on the professional capacities of the IAEA, must be adopted for similar cases, in the event, God forbid, of a repeat occurrence.
President of Russia and UN Secretary-General also expressed their shared position regarding the need for the Middle East Quartet to intensify their efforts. To that end, the Secretary-General confirmed his support for the Moscow Conference on the Middle East, where the Quartet and other key players would be able to help both sides to speed up the process of formulating ultimate agreements.
Many of the issues addressed in today’s meeting were related to climate change, sustainable development and designing a more effective role for the United Nations in overcoming the effects of the global economic and financial crisis. President Medvedev spoke strongly in support of strengthening the role of the United Nations in this key area of its activities.
In conclusion, President Medvedev confirmed that Russia will continue to support the United Nations on matters of international security, promoting social and economic development and guaranteeing the observance of human rights and freedoms.
At the meeting the opinion was expressed that Russia’s current close, trust-based, working contacts with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will continue in the future, and that the Secretary-General will strive to ensure adequate presence of the UN on the international stage.