Lavrov said Russia's proposal on a collective mechanism for assisting the Iraq settlement, which had been discussed in Sharm el-Sheikh, remained in force. The minister stressed that this mechanism would ensure the faster and more efficient coordination of the global community's efforts in this sphere.
The minister said the situation in Iraq had not yet changed for the better. He said anarchic violence, which was claiming the lives of Iraqi citizens and foreigners, escalating inter-religious tension and assassination attempts on religious figures were pushing the country toward civil war. He added that international terrorists were continuing to use the current situation in Iraq for their purposes.
Social and economic degradation, and decaying infrastructure also pose a threat to the country.
"The transitional government must be consistent in moving the political process forward and complying with its tight schedule to provide an appropriate response to these challenges," the minister said.
Lavrov reminded those attending the conference that January had seen elections to Iraq's Transitional National Assembly.
"A government including representatives of different communities and denominations has been formed," he said. "Work on drafting a permanent constitution is under way. This gives us hope that the Iraqis are capable of overcoming the deep crisis that hit the country over two year ago."
The minister said Russia was ready to help Iraq draft a new constitution.
He said that it was important to make progress in three interrelated spheres in the Iraqi settlement: bolstering the political process, solving security problems and reviving the country's economy.
"We have already made considerable steps in the economic sector. Russia has decided to write off virtually the total debt Iraq owed to the Soviet Union, which was about $8 billion," the minister said.
He stressed that this was the largest debt write-off for Iraq by a foreign creditor.
The foreign minister called for efforts to prevent the destruction of historical monuments and the theft of cultural treasures in Iraq. He said he was seriously concerned that the World Monuments Fund had included the whole territory of Iraq on the list of historical objects under threat of destruction.
"The Fund's experts explained that they took this unprecedented step because Iraq's historical treasures are in danger, and many artifacts are being stolen. It is our common responsibility to stop this for the good of the Iraqis, for the good of the planet's future generations," Lavrov said.
