Foreign Minister Lavrov: Today the action group gathering the representatives of Lebanon, the US, Russia, the EU, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the World Bank, as well as European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Member of the European Commission Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who chaired this meeting, adopted a final statement expressing support to the efforts of the government of Lebanon in stabilizing the situation in the country, in the political, economic and social fields, and also for consolidating the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon in the context of the implementation of the well-known UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1595, which have raised the need for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon and for free elections without outside interference. These provisions have already been complied with.

The second resolution presupposes an international inquiry into the killing of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The appropriate commission is actively working. The Lebanese government is cooperating with it. We expect that in the coming month, as the head of the commission has promised, the report will be finally completed and submitted to the UN Security Council, which with due regard to the opinion of the Lebanese government will be deciding what to do next. If specific charges are brought, then a trial is going to be organized, the parameters of which will still be discussed, taking into account the position of Lebanon itself.

The session's adopted statement emphasizes that we are calling on the Lebanese government to work out a plan of reform which will reflect the aspirations of the Lebanese themselves in the economic, political and institutional fields. Readiness is being expressed, when that plan has been worked out, to hold an international conference so as to discuss concrete forms of external support for these plans of the Lebanese government.

In Russia's proposal, which everybody backed unanimously, it is stressed that the plans of reform have to be worked out on the basis of national dialogue. Lebanon, as you know, is a very composite country in ethnic and religious mix. Its current political system rests on a very delicate balance of interests of all the groups. It is extremely important that it should in full measure be considered during the elaboration of the plan of reform.

Question: What questions were examined at the EU Foreign Ministers' meeting?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: We discussed the course of the implementation of the roadmaps. There is hope that towards the London summit, due in two weeks, we shall be able to record progress on a whole series of issues, including the course of the talks to facilitate the visa regime and how to tackle readmission issues. We also examined international affairs. We agreed that in the framework of the road map for a space for co-operation on external security we shall be comparing notes more regularly, primarily between our Permanent Representation in Brussels and the EU Troika, and that the upcoming Russia-European Union events soon will be used to most concretely prepare the proposals for the summit. I mean, first of all, the arrival in Moscow of the EU counterterrorism coordinator, Gies de Vries. Also, issues related to industrial and economic cooperation are expected to be discussed between our ministry of industry and energy and the European Commission.

Of international themes, we discussed Iran, agreeing that we all have a common aim - to preserve the nonproliferation regime. As to how to advance towards it, we shall be closely consulting with our European partners, seeing that the European Troika was conducting negotiations with Iran, that these negotiations, in our conviction, must be continued (for which the Troika is ready and Iran's president said about this), and that the IAEA is continuing its work in Iran, and is ready to conduct it further so as to close all the issues still outstanding. So we have no differences in strategy, and we shall continue agreeing the tactics with them, because all these months Russian was closely coordinating its actions regarding the Iranian nuclear program with the European Troika and working in close contact with the US.

A second international theme which was discussed today is the Balkans. Everybody concurred that it was necessary to heighten attention and responsibility at this important stage of Kosovo settlement so that regardless of when the UN Security Council gives the green light to the start of negotiations on a final status for Kosovo, the work on the standards implementation will continue more intensively. This is the common opinion.

The third theme was the Middle East. Everybody expects that tomorrow's Quartet meeting will underline the continuing significance of the Road Map. In this context the Quartet will assess as an important step the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and a part of the West Bank and speak in support of the government of Mahmoud Abbas and in favor of rendering him assistance in all fields, including the strengthening and equipment of the security and law enforcement forces of the PNA. We shall also together with the EU affirm our principled positions on the inadmissibility of any unilateral steps which would prejudge the negotiations on final status. In this context the continuing construction of separation barriers, along with the settlement activities of Israel, remains a cause for concern. At the same time, we agreed to underscore the intransient importance of the efforts to combat violence and terror in the Palestinian territories and in Israel. We are going to actively call upon Abbas's government to build up efforts in this direction so as to fulfill their obligations under the Road Map. In this sense, I shall re-emphasized this point, it is necessary to help the Palestinians equip their security and law enforcement forces, to arm them so that they can fight terror more actively and effectively. By the way, Russian President Putin spoke of this when he was in Israel in April of this year. This task remains very relevant and urgent.

As to the problem of drugs in Afghanistan, it is still relevant not only to be concerned with alternative farm crops, on which most European countries lay the emphasis, but also to build up coercive measures to liquidate laboratories and to intercept caravans with drugs. We reiterated our offer to arrange cooperation between those who are working within Afghanistan, and it is primarily the international military presence, and those who have the appropriate capabilities on the other side of the border, the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the first place.