Top three and St. Petersburg talk<\/p>\n
RUSSIA: The leaders of France, Germany and Russia ended two days
\nof talks in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, with fresh calls for a
\ncentral UN role in the reconstruction of Iraq.<\/p>\n
The encounter ended without a joint declaration from Russian
\nPresident Vladimir Putin, French President Jacques Chirac and
\nGerman Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.<\/p>\n
Putin said in a speech at the Saint Petersburg Law Faculty
\nthat the three leaders, who strongly opposed the U.S.-led drive
\non Baghdad without UN approval, agreed that only the United
\nNations can oversee the rebuilding of Iraq.<\/p>\n
"The UN Security Council must confer legitimacy" on any
\nreconstruction efforts, said Schroeder, who was awarded an
\nhonorary law degree from the university, where Putin himself once
\nstudied.<\/p>\n
"It is an honor that encourages me to strengthen relations
\nbetween Russia and Germany," Schroeder said, pledging that
\nGermany would help develop the university's legal library.<\/p>\n
Putin called the award a "small stone added to the foundations
\nof relations between Russia and Europe". --AFP<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/top-three-and-st-petersburg-talk-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}