MOSCOW. May 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The UN Security Council will approve the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq's interim government only if this government is put together in a transparent way, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the press on Wednesday.
"It is necessary to create conditions for the interim government to be put together transparently, so that this government is set up to be legitimate in the eyes of the Iraqi people and the international community. This would enable the Security Council to confirm this government," the minister.
"This is Russia's consistent policy, and our partners are familiar with it," Lavrov said.
After Iraq's sovereignty is restored, the international community's actions "should be based on the clearly expressed wishes of the Iraqis themselves represented in this legitimate government," the minister said.
"This is the position with which we will approach the negotiations that are beginning in New York," he said.