Russian prime minister confers with Kuwaiti FM on Iraq

Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov has called for "reactivating military and economic cooperation" with Kuwait. He stressed that relations between the two countries are "very good."

On Monday Primakov received Kuwaiti First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who arrived in Moscow on Monday to preside over his country's delegation to the meetings of the joint governmental committee, led on the Russian side by Russian Minister of Energy Sergey Generalov.

Primakov stressed that Moscow "highly appreciates the frank political dialogue with Kuwait." He added that economic and military cooperation have been "slightly reduced in recent times," but he expressed his confidence that this cooperation will be "reactivated in the very near future."

The AP reported from Moscow that Primakov told Sheikh al-Sabah that Russia is persistent in settling the crisis between Iraq and the UN inspectors through only "political and diplomatic means."