Russia, USA look to mutual understanding on missile defence - FM

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and the United States hope to
shortly reach mutual understanding on missile defence issues, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference on Wednesday
after his talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
According to Lavrov, the heads of the Russian and American foreign
policy agencies noted at talks that "U.S. President Barack Obama
unequivocally confirmed an agreement with Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev that it is necessary to reach as soon as possible understanding
that will be political and will give an opportunity to create reliable
political and other frameworks making it possible to launch practical
cooperation" in that sphere.
The Russian foreign minister also reported that the sides had "noted a
successful implementation of the START Treaty". He noted that "mechanisms
on that treaty function rather efficiently". In particular, the top
Russian diplomat mentioned the setting up of "a consultative commission,
which has already made some practical steps".
At the news conference, the Russian foreign minister also marked the
work of the Russian-American presidential commission for cooperation,
which, according to him, is "an efficient mechanism". He stressed that 18
working groups within the framework of that commission are fully involved
in work on cooperation projects.
"Besides, two other groups have been set up - one for innovations,
which is important for a positive agenda in our relations, and the second
one - for legal issues, which also play a growing role in our bilateral
dialogue," Lavrov emphasized.