The Russian President and the UN Secretary General exchanged opinions on the situation in the Balkans, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and discussed issues related to sanctions against Iraq.
The President spoke for increasing the role of the UN in dealing with burning international problems. Mr Putin assured Mr Annan that Russia was and would be a reliable partner of the UN and promised full support to UN’s actions aimed at keeping peace and stability. He emphasized that Russia was taking part in 11 of 15 peacekeeping operations conducted under the aegis of the UN.