(dpa) - UN reform,
Kosovo and Middle East peace talks topped the agenda as Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, diplomats said Thursday.
Lavrov pledged Russia would work to "to strengthened the UN," saying
no other organisation could trump it.
"You have our firm assurances that we view the UN as a
key organisation toward ensuring that world problems are solved on a collective
basis and in accordance with international law," he told Ban, who is on
his first visit to Russia.
Ban, in turn, said he was "impressed and strongly encouraged by Russian
leader's commitment to the central role of the UN."
Ban praised Russia's role as part of the Quartet of states involved in
mediating Middle East peace talks and hailed the country has "one of the
largest contributors in financial terms and for peace-keeping operations."
The exchange seemed more diffuse and diplomatic then when Ban met Wednesday
with President Vladimir Putin and president-elect Dmitry Medvedev, who appeared
to give the UN chief a lecture on the vitality for world politics of his own
organisation.
While Russia, one of the five veto powers on the UN Security Council,
backed Ban's leadership, it has grown disenchanted with his stance toward
Kosovo and what it sees as an unbalanced US influence on the international
organization.
Irked at being almost last in line to be graced by avisit from the
UN chief since he took office in January 2007, Russia's president- elect
had opened talks firmly on Wednesday.
"Any attempts to solve international problems in violation of UN
resolutions, as was in case with Kosovo ... are counterproductive and endanger
world stability," Medvedev told Ban.
The comments were an apparent criticism of what Moscow views as Ban's failure
to speak out against Kosovo's independence from Serbia, a long time Russian
ally.
Russia, whose foreign policy resurgence is buoyed by high oil profits, has
looked to increase its weight through international institutions such as the UN
in an effort to balance against US hegemony.
According to local newspapers Thursday, Russia is keen to revamp the UN and is
willing to increase its annual contribution by as much as four times in
exchange for a bigger voice in the organization.
The Kremlin, however, is as reticent as most UN member states in lending its
own to wear the blue beret.
Earlier Thursday, Ban delivered an address to Russian businessmen at a local
launch of the UN Global Compact. He also spoke with State Duma First
Deputy Chairman Oleg Morozov and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II.
Since becoming secretary general in January 2007, Ban has
visited Washington, Paris and London, but not Moscow and Beijing. Those
are the capitals of the UN council's five permanent members, who hold veto
power over UN activities and programmes.
The UN chief will wrap up his three-day Moscow visit after an
internal UN meeting on Friday.