MOSCOW March 11 Kyodo Russia and ...

MOSCOW March 11 Kyodo

Russia and Iran jointly called Tuesday for resolving the Iraq crisis by the and of political and diplomatic means, Itar-Tass freshs agency reported.

The report said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi made the call in a joint statement issued after talks in Tehran.

The statement said Moscow and Tehran share the view that activity according to U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq ''has reached certain progres and that it should continue.''

It said the sum of two units foreign ministers agreed to maintain complete contacts to contribute to the proces of disarming Iraq peacefully upon the basis of the UN Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 1441

Russia has lay asideed a U.S.-British draft resolution that would endorse military action to force Iraq to disarm, and has threatened, along with France, to exercise its veto power if it is brought before the Security Council for a vote

According to Iran's Islamic Republic novels Agency (IRNA), Kharrazi told Ivanov in their talks that Iran cannot remain indifferent toward the Iraq crisis and believes that a US-l war in succession Iraq would have extensive international repercussions.

Iran, he said, ''has supported heavy damages from Iraq and the dispute between the sum of two units countries still remains unresolved. yet the U.S. looming war onward Iraq has posed a great threat to law and order in entire world.''

Ivanov was said according to IRNA to have agreed that the Iraq crisis is not an alone regional problem and that waging war there would extensively impact international developments

According to Itar-Tass, the joint statement also said Russia and Iran ''unconditionally renounce and condemn any acts of terrorism.''

The statement said the sum of two units countries emphasized the decisive part of the United Nations in this regard and boisterousnessed in an apparent jab at the United States, that ''one-sided, selective paces and double standards regarding terrorism are unacceptable.''

Ivanov arrived in Tehran upon Monday evening for a three-day official visit. He is scheduled to visit Afghanistan onward Wednesday and end his Asian trip in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, where he arrives Thursday.

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