Russia rules out return to Cold War-era : Lavrov

Moscow, Sep 3 (UNI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavorov today ruled out possibility of return to a Cold War-era stressing that there were no 'system-like contradiction' in the relations between Moscow and Washington.

''There are no system-like contradictions between Russia and the United States, which shows that there exist development prospects for those relations,'' Mr Lavrov said in his annual address at the Moscow Institute of International Relations.

''Russia is not an opponent of the United States, and a return to the Cold War-era is out of the question,'' he said.

''The United States and Russia have inherited from the past a mutual relationship in the form of our common responsibility for the maintenance of strategic stability in the world,'' he said, adding ''But it was that this 'toolkit' of the past' is not enough for building modern, stable and future-orientated relationships.'' The Russian foreign minister also called for working out ''new forms of collective cooperation'' between Russia, the United States and the European Union, pointing out there were good prospects for the cooperation between the three partners.

He said the three partners may set the course of world development,noting ''The tripartite alliance is a cost-free way of mutual deterrence. The world is in need of a balance.'' ''This could be described as 'a concert' of the 21st-century powers,'' he pointed out.

Mr Lavrov, however, said there were 'red lines' problems for Russia, which affected its national interests and Moscow ''will not bargain on those problems.'' ''These include the problems connected with the deployment of elements of the third position line of the ABM system in Europe, the settlement of the Kosovo conflict, as well as the expansion of NATO and of the Conventional Force in Europe Treaty,'' he said.

UNI