25 September 2008, 12:19
Lavrov and Rice talk Georgia at the UN General Assembly
In New York, negotiations took place of Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, and Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State. The topic was the cool-down of relations of the two countries after events in Georgia.
The Reuters reports with reference to Under Secretary Daniel Fried that the exchange of opinions between the heads of foreign policy agencies of the USA and Russia was "tough but polite". Ms Rice has noted that Russia's actions failed to receive any broad international support and undermined its prestige.
Mr Lavrov has recognized that Russia's response to Georgian aggression against South Ossetia has caused a cool-down in RF-USA relations, but noted that Moscow "doesn't feel any isolation". The Minister has emphasized that Moscow and Washington are not going to watch the Georgian problem as a stumbling-block.
Already after the negotiations, when addressing the American Foreign Policy Council, Sergey Lavrov presented the Russian point of view on the issue. "We have disagreements with the United States on the Caucasus, but our countries should reject these disagreements," the RIA "Novosti" quotes Mr Lavrov as saying.
In her interview to the CNBC TV Channel after the meeting, the Secretary of State said that "Russia stands with its one foot on integration into the world system, but keeps the other foot outside. This is far from being the most comfortable posture."
