Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart George W. Bush on Friday that he wants the soonest return of the UN weapons inspectors to Baghdad, saidthe Kremlin press secretary Alexei Gromov.
The two presidents also agreed during their telephone talks to meet in Mexico next month during a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), he added.
"Putin emphasized that in the current situation it is necessaryto concentrate on the quickest possible beginning of U.N. inspection and monitoring activities," Gromov said in a statement.
He said Bush and Putin agreed to work closely on the Iraq issueboth bilaterally and in the U.N.
Gromov said the two also discussed cooperation in strategic stability.
(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2002)
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